megilleland

In the Hereford Times today: The flogging off carries on. Gotta to raise a penny or two.

Letter forwarded to me from Open Spaces Society advising dates for upcoming second consultation on the Hereford Transport Package, including the Hereford Bypass and a range of walking, cycling and public realm improvements. Partners and businesses HTP letter - post decision final(1).pdf Notice the letterhead is from County of Herefordshire District Council, Environment & Place, PO Box 4, Plough Lane, Hereford HR4 0XH Main Switchboard (01432) 260000 and not Herefordshire Council which was established in April 1998 and took over the responsibilities of South Herefordshire District Council, Hereford City Council and Hereford-Worcester County Council and some of Leominster District Council and Malvern Hills District Council.

Yes, it's on the Council land and property register.

In the Hereford Times today: Can't imagine NMiTE being able to help fund any trust which could be set up, after all they are going to need every penny they can get to operate themselves. I notice that following Churchill House occupation by the Art College, they have now left and Hoople Training and Education are utilising the building for meetings and conferences.

Auction being held on the 19/02/2018 at the Le Meridien, 21 Piccadilly, London W1J 0BH Lots with guide price Lot 28. Units on Netherwood Road, Rotherwas Industrial Estate, Hereford, Herefordshire, HR2 6JZ £25,000 Lot 29. Units on Netherwood Road, Rotherwas Industrial Estate, Hereford, Herefordshire, HR2 6JZ £25,000 Lot 33. Unit 42 Chapel Road, Rotherwas Industrial Estate, Hereford, Herefordshire, HR2 6LD To be announced Lot 39. Units on Netherwood Road, Rotherwas Industrial Estate, Hereford, Herefordshire, HR2 6JZ £25,000 Lot 40. Units on Netherwood Road, Rotherwas Industrial Estate, Hereford, Herefordshire, HR2 6JZ £25,000 Below are the results of the National property auction held on the 11/12/2017 at the Le Meridien, 21 Piccadilly, London W1J 0BH Lot 7. Units On Netherwood Road, Rotherwas Industrial Estate, Hereford, Herefordshire, HR2 6JZ Sold for £101,000 Lot 39. 439 Twyford Road, Rotherwas Industrial Estate, Hereford, Herefordshire, HR2 6JR Sold for £52,000 Lot 40. Unit 1, Fir Tree Lane, Rotherwas Industrial Estate, Hereford, Herefordshire, HR2 6LA Sold for £54,000 Lot 43. 2 Over Ross Farm House, 26(A) Over Ross Farm, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, HR9 7BN Sold for £160,000 Total £367,000 Below are the results of the National property auction held on the 20/02/2017 at the Le Meridien, 21 Piccadilly, London W1J 0BH Lot 33. 24A & 25 Commercial Street, Hereford, Herefordshire, HR1 2DE Sold after auction for an undisclosed amount

Housing in Herefordshire Herefordshire Council do not own or manage any homes, having carried out a transfer of its entire housing stock to Herefordshire Housing Ltd in 2001. All social housing, also known as affordable housing, is owned and managed by housing associations operating in the county. Housing associations The main housing associations that own stock in Herefordshire are: Bromford Housing Group Fortis Living Housing Association (previously Festival Housing) Guinness Hermitage Herefordshire Housing Limited Sanctuary Housing South Shropshire Housing Association Stonewater previously Marches Housing Association Two Rivers Housing West Mercia Homes (part of the WM Housing Group) If you would like to apply to register for housing in Herefordshire, please visit the Home Point website to complete an online application. Home Point Herefordshire is a choice-based lettings agency that was set up in partnership between Herefordshire Council and the main housing associations in Herefordshire. Home Point holds the central register for people in need of affordable rented homes in the county.

extract from Herefordshire Council's Housing Allocation Policy for Herefordshire 2.3.1.1 Armed Forces: The Housing Act 1996 (Additional Preference for Armed Forces)(England) Regulations 2012 provide that local housing authorities MUST frame their allocation policy to give additional preference to the following persons if they fall within one or more of the statutory reasonable preference categories and are in urgent need: * serving members of the regular forces who are suffering from a serious injury, illness or disability which is wholly or partly attributable to their service * former members of the regular armed forces * bereaved spouses or civil partners of those serving in the regular forces where (i) the bereaved spouse or civil partner has recently deceased, or will cease to be entitled, to reside in Ministry of Defence accommodation following the death of their spouse or civil partner, and (ii) the death was wholly or partly attributable to their service. * existing or former members of the reserve forces who are suffering from a serious injury, illness, or disability which is wholly or partly attributable to their service If an ‘Armed Forces’ applicant is able to meet the local connection criteria (or is exempt from this), does not have sufficient resource to meet their own housing need and falls into one or more of the statutory reasonable preference categories, the Housing Allocation Policy for Herefordshire will award the applicant an additional 6 months in waiting time at the point that need has been assessed or date of registration (if need hasn’t changed over time). Bereaved spouses and civil partners of service personnel who are required to leave service families accommodation following the death of their spouse or partners are likely to experience similar issues to service families on discharge from the forces. The Regulations are intended therefore to protect bereaved spouses and civil partners from the time they are required to leave service families accommodation until they are able to obtain alternative settled accommodation. The Regulations also apply to members of the reserve forces who suffer from a serious illness, injury or disability as a result of their service, recognising that they may find that their current accommodation is no longer suitable for their needs or affordable, or that they may have to move to access care or support. The Herefordshire Armed Forces Community Covenant, established as part of a government initiative to promote greater understanding between the general public and the military was signed on 29th May 2012. The agreement aims to encourage all parties within a community to offer support to the local Armed Forces community and make it easier for Service personnel, families and veterans to access the help and support available. This policy is framed to recognise and remember the sacrifices faced by the Armed Forces Community and considers opportunities to support the housing needs of Service and ex Service personnel.

The folly of numbers: 332,000 votes for Bob Curry - Herefordshire Council can't/won't change the world unless the cabinet of 8 agree to do so. So few against so many. Tory council majority on council only 3 - will it ever change?

Hi Ragwert. Yes it seems to bring out the best in people.

Extract from article in Money Week 19th January 2018 After two years of news stories about the plight of new-build homeowners, the government has finally announced a ban on new-build houses being sold as leasehold, and other measures designed to cut out unfair and abusive practices within the leasehold system. This problem has been around for a while, but has only recently made it to the forefront of the national consciousness. Although traditionally leasehold ground rents were “peppercorn†ones (essentially negligible), in recent years housebuilders have quietly created a new revenue stream by including escalating ground-rent terms in the leases of new-build houses. Onerous ground-rent arrangements include those that see initially affordable sums double, or rise in line with inflation, every ten years. Some leaseholders will be paying annual ground rent of more than £9,000 in 50 years’ time. On top of this, freeholders also have the power to charge homeowners’ unregulated “consent fees†to extend or alter their house. Following a government consultation last year, communities secretary Sajid Javid said it was “unacceptable for homebuyers to be exploited through unnecessary leaseholds, unjustifiable charges and onerous ground rent termsâ€. The new rules mean ground rents on new leases – for both houses and flats – will be set to zero. The government will also write to developers to ask them to provide “necessary redress†to leaseholders with the most onerous terms, and work with the Law Commission to try and make it easier for leaseholders to buy their freehold. also Useful sites for new home buyers New Home Blog - Keeping UK new home buyers informed Brand New Homes

First-time buyers' anger at Keepmoat as they accuse housebuilder of 'appalling treatment' An action group has been set up to lobby MPs by disgruntled homeowners Angry residents in a west Hull estate are up in arms about the "appalling" treatment they have received from a well-known housebuilding firm. Residents on the Scholars Gate development in Riley Way, off Spring Bank West, Hull own their properties on a lease. This usually means they pay the owner of the freehold, who owns the land and immovable structures on it, an annual sum - ground rent - until the lease expires. When they bought their new homes, some residents asked Keepmoat Homes, which developed the estate, whether they could buy the freehold from them. The homeowners say they were told they would have to wait two years and pay their lease in that period before they could buy the freehold. But the residents have now discovered the freehold on their homes has been sold to other companies, and buying it back could be even more expensive. Karen Platten, 41, was shocked to discover the freehold on her home, which Keepmoat Homes said she could only buy in two years' time, had been bought by another company. "They completely changed their policy in March but totally refused to sell us the freehold - they said it was not an option," she said. "We then weren't even offered it before they sold it to a third party and that is disgusting." Neighbour Tom Hammett said he was also told he could only buy his home's freehold in two years, but has now been informed it has been sold to another different company. Mr Hammett said: "(The new company has) sent us a letter now requesting we pay them a non-refundable fee of approximately £140 for them to give us a price for the freehold. "It is more infuriating because it was something I specifically enquired about at the time of purchase and we were told something which turned out to be simply not true." Mr Hammett and Ms Platten are members of a group of residents who have contacted Hull West MP Emma Hardy and Sajid Javid, communities and local government minister, to complain about Keepmoat Homes. The ‘Residents of Scholars Gate’ Facebook group is fronted by fellow resident and professional lobbyist Richard Royal. He said: "The way new home buyers are being treated by Keepmoat is appalling and completely inconsistent. "I’m a first-time buyer and wanted to purchase freehold but was told this was impossible – yet when I moved in I found that the couple only two doors away were offered it, albeit at a cost, whilst others were offered it for free. "Keepmoat only sold my leasehold a few weeks ago despite my complaints over many months beforehand, so they could have let me buy it." Keepmoat Homes said the firm only began selling 'freehold only' properties in July this year. Previously, only customers who bought the lease and wanted to buy the freehold were offered the option to do so. The firm is currently liaising with six customers at Scholars Gate regarding the sale of their freeholds. A spokesperson said: "In May 2017, Keepmoat Homes' Leasehold Policy was updated to reflect changes in the market, with lenders and in line with the industry. "At this time, customers who had reserved plots were offered the option to purchase the freehold prior to exchange and additionally customers who had already exchanged were contacted personally and offered a further opportunity to purchase the freehold interest. "There was a further update to Keepmoat Homes' Leasehold Policy in July this year we took the decision to revert to selling freehold only properties (where we have the ability to do so), following concerns expressed by some of our customers and negative perceptions in the media." ‘UNJUST’ LEASEHOLDS TO BE BANNED BY GOVERNMENT BUT IS IT TOO LATE FOR SALFORD? Leasehold Reform - House of Commons Hansard - 7th November 2017 Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 2 February 2018, and to be printed (Bill 121). Reading the above I can see what he means - very profitable!

I spent yesterday afternoon watching "Darkest Hour" at the Odeon. Watching the film I thought how this is being replicated today. A change of cast and replacing the word Nazi with European Union and we are in the same position with the wolf at the door, ready to relieve us of our sovereignty, our laws, money and independence. Went I got back home after thinking Winston would have got us out of our present Brexit mess by telling all our traitorous MPs and remainers to take a running jump I discovered that he was in fact all for a United States of Europe, but I am sure not in the form it has transpired to be.

Can't believe there are no comments from viewers to read. Technical problem to suppress Brexitiers no doubt!

Hello Bobby. I get irritated by the format of this programme and the questions posed which we all know will be asked. I find pressing the red button and reading viewers comments more interesting and giving a more accurate representation of the feelings of the British public. Also watching UK Column gives an alternative slant on stories that the BBC does not or will not cover. ie: START Fake News: Donald Trumps list in the headlines 05:25 The smokescreen of normality: Brexit is a scam 06:14 Franco British Council: undermining British Sovereignty 23:45 Nigel Farage busy destroying UKIP...Hague calls for disbanding 25:21 PFI and PF2: capital value £60bn, cost to the taxpayer £199bn… 27:49 RBS: hanging their customers…? 29:48 Rt. Hon David Gauke: defending independent judiciary & rule of law 33:19 Prime Minister (temporary replacement) bill 2017-2019 36:34 Grenfell Tower: housing boss quits six months after tragedy

In Herefordshire Council latest news Ubique could this be a response to these articles which appeared in the Daily Express and The Sun?

Yes another cock-up by the financial wizards running Carillion Totally out of control buying up loads of well known British names over the years Mowlem, Alfred McAlpine and John Laing. The company spent several weeks attempting a merger with rival Balfour Beatty. It was revealed as a subscriber to an illegal construction industry blacklisting body, The Consulting Association (TCA). Chairman Philip Nevill Green CBE (born 12 May 1953) is a British business executive.[1] He became Chairman of Carillion[2] in May 2014 and has been Chairman of BakerCorp[2] since June 2011, following the company's acquisition by the private equity firm, Permira. Green is also Chairman Designate of Williams & Glyn, the UK challenger bank that is being divested by Royal Bank of Scotland.[3] From 2006 to 2011 he was executive of the United Utilities[2][3][4] when he was succeeded by Steve Mogford, and was the chairman of the shipbroker, Clarkson.[5] He advised British prime minister David Cameron on issues such as corporate responsibility.[6] In addition, he has supported several charity projects including charity Sentebale[7] and the charity Hope Through Action.[8] He graduated from the University of Wales and got a master's degree in business from London Business School.[2] In January 2018 Carillion, a company chaired by Green, announced that the Financial Conduct Authority was investigating the timeliness and content of the company's announcements from December 2016 regarding its financial situation.[9] Green was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to business and charity in the UK and South Africa.[10] Considering the expertness of these top business leaders expect other companies to crash. As Vince Cable said yesterday - "Privatise the profits and Nationalise the losses" - remember he was the man to sell off the undervalued public service Royal Mail for a song. The £180 million giveaway would have been very useful for the NHS.

It is going to happen sooner than that starting 2020 I predict.

The UK government is screwing its citizens by cutting off funding for local authorities - in 2015/16, councils received £9.9bn in Revenue Support Grant (RSG) and by 2019/20, they will get only £2.2bn. Half of the authorities will go bankrupt. If we don't get out of the EU completely I predict that by the next election plans to do away with local authorities will place us all in regions under the control of unelected EU bureaucrats (officials who works by fixed routine without exercising intelligent judgment) and we will be screwed again for ever. Already there are plans underway to form an EU army to which we have quietly agreed to contribute and also an EU treasury which will milk citizens and businesses with taxes. It will be interesting to hear what Nigel Farage has to say with his meeting tomorrow with Mr Barnier.

I am one of the old ones and nobody listens to me!

End of the road for Robert Owen School and rebirth

Not sure how this is going to pan out. With the large corporates and the BBC calling the shots I can only see news stories slanted to suit their agendas and pressure kept up to get us out of Brexit. Regarding the local authority there have been plenty of items to investigate and in most cases all ignored.

Here is a post I made in December 2015 I am surprised that the idea of a tram line is being pursued. Of course it would enable the council to play around with any funding and lose more money in the process as witness their previous schemes mentioned on this forum. A big effort with vision is needed to utilise what we already have and operate it to its full potential. The answer is to reduce prices on the bus to attract more customers - a flat fare across the city ie a pound. Also routes need to connect places where people need to go ie station, hospital, retail centres, leisure centres and future university locations. These routes should be based on figure of eight routes centered on Tesco in the city. Since I have been living in Hereford the bus routes have never changed with the exception of the building of the link road as mentioned by Adrian. As a witness to the use of our city buses where most evenings there are only three or four people travelling. Also the frequency and curtailment of evening service results in the proliferation of expensive taxis.

It is difficult to find an answer to such an easy request. Herefordshire Council web page states that bus services in Herefordshire are provided by a number of operators. For specific advice on bus fares, lost property or disruptions to services, see the bus contacts page. Looking at this information which is very scant and time consuming, I couldn't find the price for a journey in the city. Yeomans who run the major city routes have no information on their website about specific prices on their routes. I think they rely on people paying for a day ticket which is cheaper, I think than two single tickets, and can be used on all their bus services. DRM who operate the 476 (Hereford to Ledbury) and 420 routes (Hereford to Worcester via Bromyard) offer pensioners free travel after 9.30am Monday to Friday and anytime on Saturday. If you are travelling before 9.30am, it will cost £2.00. However Herefordshire Council offers some residents free travel on local bus services. Free bus travel with these passes is available between 9.30am and 11pm on Monday to Friday, and all day on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays. You can travel: * Across Herefordshire and the rest of England * Between Herefordshire and places in Wales, provided that each bus journey starts or finishes in Herefordshire * Between Presteigne and Knighton in Powys There are three types of bus pass available: * Older person's pass * Disabled person's bus pass * Companion bus pass There is this site PLUSBUS which gives you unlimited bus travel on participating operators’ services, around the urban area of Hereford city, as shown by their travel maps. Not a car owner out of choice, I travel with an older person's bus pass and senior railcard and enjoy the benefit of using public transport when convenient. Otherwise I cycle or hire a car as necessary.

I found this piece crediting this company with the management of the car parks. These car parking charges are entwined with the PFI contract set up years ago. Various articles of complaint in the Hereford Times over these years and also raised in Parliament by Jesse Norman. Amazing that such a simple matter as parking has created a cash cow for several private companies.

More historic debates here. We do not get this standard of debate on issues affecting us today - only silence or mud slinging from the majority of our MPs almost a pantomine. Robin Day vs. Enoch Powell vs. others on the UK's membership of the EEC. This debate is being relived today and the BBC as usual are as biased as ever. Tony Benn - Britain must Leave the EU to restore Democracy