megilleland

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today Sounds familiar - people and their livelihoods don't count.

How long does it take to get our roads repaired? Longer than if the Japanese did the work. Watch these videos, following the giant sinkhole collapse a week ago, putting the town's five lane street into a big hole. Interesting to see the human interaction to get the work done. Operation Yashiori 1st Day Operation Yashiori 2nd Day By the way can we raise the council tax to buy a few more spray cans for BB to mark out our potholes! It is a pity that all our local council tax is given to private companies to shift offshore instead of creating local jobs so that our roads are once again highways and not cart tracks. I can see the Japanese building HS2 in a couple of months if they get the contract.

The GWW is again covered in wet leaves as reported last year providing a dangerous surface for cyclists. Again no road sweepers seen this year. Also noticed the cycle path is now beginning to be lifted by tree roots in various places and the link to Brampton Road is breaking up. Regarding litter the tractor used last week to cut back the bank at the academy end has exposed the usual quantity of litter and debris. The ride along Blackfriars Street between the lights at the shopping centre and Widemarsh Street has to be the worst section in the city - the only smooth section to cycle is along the white line!

Article in the Daily Wail today suggesting that M&S could be on a hit list of closures. To quote the paper: Doesn't give much confidence. I suppose when the Council and Balfour Beatty start digging up High Town in front of the store and close more roads into the city - it will be the final nail in their coffin.

Noticed a sign yesterday stating that Southbank Road off Aylestone Hill will be closed from Monday 14th November for one week. Any information on what is happening?

Balfour Beatty were paid nothing in August as well as in September. Is the council's kitty empty or are BB working as a charity?

A properly fitted hybrid bike with panniers and a front basket could be a good investment. Got rid of my car 15 years ago and hire one when I need it - about 4 times a year - saved thousands of pounds over that period. You'll be surprised what you can carry.

In the September 2016 expenditure note the council are spending £277,649.44 with Matrix SCM Ltd. I thought Hoople were covering this area of work. The council have paid nothing to Balfour Beatty this month - unusual. BB must have spent all the contract money!

Council monthly expenditure over previous years December 2011 to March 2012 November-11 £9,376,672.48 December-11 £9,926,521.96 January-12 £11,711,550.11 February-12 £8,969,226.51 March-12 £14,055,654.03 Total £54,039,625.09 April 2012 to March 2013 April-12 £7,496,463.30 May-12 £6,971,065.54 June-12 £10,075,252.17 July-12 £6,742,745.48 August-12 £14,751,748.53 September-12 £9,123,630.40 October-12 £9,725,588.90 November-12 £11,034,557.81 December-12 £12,334,956.32 January-13 £8,415,694.40 February-13 £10,063,916.31 March-13 £20,908,074.65 Total £127,643,693.81 April 2013 to March 2014 April-13 £8,872,215.72 May-13 £8,364,315.87 June-13 £9,672,120.94 July-13 £11,176,964.83 August-13 £14,208,339.29 September-13 £8,096,030.04 October-13 £10,811,299.47 November-13 £14,570,547.73 December-13 Unable to find January-14 £13,053,687.19 February-14 £14,478,694.34 March-14 £17,382,243.42 Total £130,686,458.84 April 2014 to March 2015 April-14 £10,941,523.37 May-14 £15,651,504.45 June-14 £20,076,798.47 July-14 £16,722,166.71 August-14 £11,463,842.19 September-14 £19,115,388.06 October-14 £17,156,038.09 November-14 £13,965,165.00 December-14 £19,052,808.46 January-15 £17,043,386.36 February-15 £17,045,880.43 March-15 £20,339,966.37 Total £198,574,467.96 April 2015 to March 2016 April-15 £13,699,763.29 May-15 £21,429,279.19 June-15 £21,284,661.14 July-15 £21,634,157.12 August-15 £15,898,333.88 September-15 £14,785,122.27 October-15 £25,070,312.15 November-15 £17,916,762.80 December-15 £17,775,196.29 January-16 £15,480,505.24 February-16 £19,153,398.56 March-16 £15,775,397.62 Total £219,902,889.55 April 2016 to September 2016 April-16 £28,561,555.44 May-16 £10,495,750.59 June-16 £22,359,556.07 July-16 £12,775,415.29 August-16 £5,274,243.50 September-16 £2,278,341.37 Total to date £81,744,862.26 Interesting to see the expenditure falling drastically in the last two months. If the council is not spending it, where are they stashing away the surplus? Paying management consultants?

I think Jacques Peretti should be contacted to investigate the running of Herefordshire Council. It could be worth a series rather than a single programme!

Yes it would be nice to know.

This application is being dealt with by East Devon District Council. Over 400 comments and objections - noise appears a problem.

By coincidence this story in the Lyme Regis and Bridport News 5 days ago echoing concerns where villagers and campaigners have submitted more than 330 letters of objection to planners over proposals to build a 20MW gas fired energy reserve facility along Stonebarrow Lane in Hawkchurch on the Dorset-Devon border. The same companies involved with the Madley project.

Have these architects lost their marbles. This monstrosity is proposed to be wedged into Cantilupe Street, a fine street of Victorian houses. Reminds me of the World War II pill boxes and fortifications found along the front line. What next anti-tank traps in the park opposite! The architects must have scanned the Brutalist Period of Architecture to get their unimaginative idea for a pile of bricks. What do you think? Comments to the Planning Department by Thursday 3 November 2016 Email to: planning_enquiries@herefordshire.gov.uk Post to: Planning Services, PO Box 230, Hereford HR1 2ZB

Aerial images of The William Evans and Co Cider Works, Moor House and the Widemarsh Common Cricket Ground, Hereford, 1932.

Herefordshire Council Employment Panel Friday 2 September 2016 2.00 pm Agenda item 5 Preliminary investigation View the background to item 5. To consider the findings of a preliminary investigation into the conduct of a council employee. Exempt information notice It is anticipated that this report will contain information which is exempt from publication and during discussion of this information the public may be excluded from the meeting. Representations on exempt information If you wish to make representations that the public should not be excluded from the meeting during discussion of this item please write to the Monitoring Officer stating the reasons why you think the discussion should be held in public. How can you make representations about an item to be discussed if you don't know the background, other than you want to see the reaction of councillors concerning this matter and whether there is any cover up in play.

Have come across this website The Drill Hall Project which raises concerns of the loss of these buildings and contains useful information on buildings around the country and in Herefordshire. The design of the website makes the information hard to read, but there are some good photos - so worth a look. The site has a section on Saving a Drill Hall - a resource bank with a Generic Redevelopment Document containing examples of text used to frame comments about the following aspects of planning applications affecting drill halls.

Interesting article from the Children's Homes website with many photos of the school and its incumbents.

The news today stated that productivity in the UK is at an all time low confirming what we see on Colin's video. As there is no proper investment in our industries the workmen must be sharing one shovel. However plenty of money for our armed police forces to keep us in check should we step out of line.

26 July 2016 Last week, MPs rejected Caroline Lucas' bill for proportional representation... But don't be disheartened! 74 MPs voted FOR the bill, this is far more than last time when only 29 MPs voted for. We were only 7 votes away from Caroline's bill going to a 2nd reading and having a parliamentary debate on a fairer voting system. Thank you to everyone who contacted their MPs to ask them to vote for the bill, Make Votes Matter has made many new connections and relationships as a result. We have also updated our map of MPs views on PR here: What did our local MPs think about this. Pretty Predictable. Hereford South Herefordshire - CON - Jesse Norman - opposes PR "As it happens, I don't agree with you about Proportional Representation. Full PR would break the link between an MP and his or her voters; it would be less decisive than our present system, and it would mean you could have a change of government from one party or set of parties to another without a general election. All these aspects are highly unattractive, in my view." Herefordshire North - CON - Bill Wiggin - opposes PR "Sorry to disappoint you but the election was far from a forgone conclusion and given that there were large numbers of Lib Dems before and that they were wiped out is not the fault of first past the post but of the lib dems themselves." Interestingly these are the average votes required to elect an MP to the party. Party - Votes per seat Conservative - 34,244 Labour - 40,290 SNP - 25,972 Lib Dem - 301,986 DUP ........23,032 Sinn Ffein - 44,058 Plaid Cymru - 60,564 SDLP - 33,269 UUP - 57,467 Ukip - 3,881,129 Green - 1,157,613 Like the cabinet system in Herefordshire Council and the recent referendum. We will consult you, but will not listen to you. Now go away - we have got our own agenda.

Not only in England and Wales, but also in Scotland. Seems to be a pattern running through these authorities - you give the money to us and we will get rid of it - oh, and you may get some benefit eventually. I have always said it is a good idea to use somebody elses money rather than your own. Similar process when past governments have raided pension funds.

As we were going off topic regarding "Choose How You Move - hollow Council rhetoric" ie cycliing hazards and moving into financial matters concerning how others spend our taxes this topic is to draw attention to how the other half live. and Herefordshire Council credit card transactions - quarter ending 30 June 2016 - £4,406.91 spent. Quite frugal compared to the two above.

Considering BBLP is rumoured to be running out of money from reading above - details in the Herefordshire Council's Contracts Register 2016 suggest that more money could be coming their way in the future. Originally told that the BBLP contract was going to cost us £200,000,000 over 10 years it looks as if all those involved at the council and BBLP are already considering extending the contract and cost. Judging by their performance to date I hope that their contract at review is terminated. It appears that the management of the company is unfit for purpose and a complete waste of money for the local taxpayer. A classic example of the private sector sucking money out of the system to line the pockets of its major shareholders who have no idea what a brush and shovel is used for. Witness the state of the city and county roads and estates - a total disgrace. Item 24 in spreadsheet Reference No. DN83169 (CS-DSIN-9XRG4F) Contract Title Public Realm Service Contract Directorate Economy, communities and corporate Department Highways and Community Services Contracts Manager Walter Longden Brief Description Highway management services, Highways maintenance and improvement works, traffic management, street lighting, street cleaning, public rights of way, land drainage and flood risk management, associated professional services, parks and open spaces, fleet management, public realm asset management, customer support services, public realm ICT solutions. Supplier Name "Balfour Beatty Living Places" Address "Balfour Beatty Living Places Pavilion B, Ashwood Park, Ashwood Way, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG23 8BG www.bblivingplaces.com" Status SME/VCS N/A Registration Number 2067112 Estimated Contract Value £000 400,000 Estimated Annual Value £000 20,000 VAT not recoverable N/A Start Date 01/09/2013 End Date 31/08/2023 Review Date 30/08/2020 Option to Extend Y/N Y Extension End Date 31/08/2033 Quotation or Tender Tender Nature of Contract Service Funding Source Council Funded Sector Type Private Sector Comments "The Public Realm Contract has a minimum term of 120 months (10 years) and a maximum term of 240 months (20 years) if all available extension options are taken. The value of the contract is estimated at between £200,000,000 and £1,000,000,000. The lower estimate is based on £20,000,000 per annum over the first 10 years of the contract period for the core services. On this basis the Contracting Authority’s spend over the maximum term of the contract is broadly but realistically estimated to be £400,000,000. An additional allowance of £100,000,000 has been included for the commissioning of any Non-Core services and any increase in spend for reasons which cannot be accurately predicted at this time. Plus a further allowance of £500,000,000 has been included to cover any usage by Contracting Authorities."

Former Bolton Council boss's £90,000 pay off after just FIVE MONTHS’ work A COUNCIL'S former chief executive - who quit his £160,000-a-year job after just five months - left with a settlement of £90,000. £90.000 appears to be a popular amount used by local authorities. This figure cropped up in this old post "Herefordshire Council has created a new £90,000 a year role" Groucho Marx had it summed up in the classic Animal Crackers film - Hello I Must Be Going

Did the contract start on 1st September 1998? Looking at the Council's payment figures to Balfour Beatty from September 2014 up to May 2016, the figures seem to tell us that at the present rate of average monthly expenditure the Balfour Beatty 10 year contract costed at £200 million will only last just over 65 months, just over 5 years. I think I have worked this out correctly. 2014 1 £4,520,091.03 Sep-14 2 £4,453,926.25 Oct-14 3 £4,316,424.45 Nov-14 4 £3,575,856.86 Dec-14 £16,866,298.59 Total 2015 5 £2,416,328.99 Jan-15 6 £2,978,053.73 Feb-15 7 £2,228,913.62 Mar-15 8 £2,888,130.47 Apr-15 9 £3,416,096.37 May-15 10 £2,589,848.76 Jun-15 11 £3,006,089.34 Jul-15 12 £3,082,875.49 Aug-15 13 £2,638,848.57 Sep-15 14 £2,369,411.11 Oct-15 15 £3,338,204.74 Nov-15 16 £3,405,718.93 Dec-15 £34,358,520.12 Total 2016 17 £1,873,472.19 Jan-16 18 £1,910,101.26 Feb-16 £1,910,101.26 Feb-16 (2 payments in February) 19 £188,907.60 Mar-16 £2,060,343.78 Mar-16 (2 payments in March) 20 £2,664,809.74 Apr-16 21 £2,473,588.32 May-16 £13,081,324.15 Total Total spent so far £64,306,142.86 over 21 months. Average sum paid over 21 months £3,062,197.28 At the present rate of spend the 10 year contract would cost us £367,463,673.48 What happens when Herefordshire Council has spent its £200 million and the contract has another 55 months to run? What do we get for our council tax?