megilleland

Listening to Hereford & Worcester Radio this morning and this Elliott Webb chappie is winding me up with his interview technique or lack of it concerning the Hereford United saga. His approach of asking someone their view, and then directly contradicting their point, he then gets the next caller who has the opposite of the first caller, and then contradicts their view. Instead of moving the interview along with some investigative journalism. The programme just passes time and achieves nothing in the long run. We are seeing this in all areas of the media - local and national news sources broadcasting the same conveyor news that the government are feeding them. I reckon this a deliberate ploy to distract the masses from the real issues that are ruining peoples' lives. I listen to UK Column and people say you are a nutcase, believing what they tell you, regarding what they tell us is really going on in the country and beyond. The problem is, we already believe what the BBC tell us and anyone who contradicts their presentations, must be mad. Having heard on Radio 4 today that the government is going to allow fracking in National Parks, I know who I think is mad.

That hour glass is too clever. Imagine the boy racers waiting to pull away while granny or me work out what they really mean. We would all end up with egg on our face or being scrambled! They have a countdown system in Spain that works well and if it says green you can go and if red you stop.

Notice that in the papers today councils want to tax out of town supermarkets. Local councils have asked the government to give them new powers to tax large supermarkets under a system similar to that already in place in Scotland and Northern Ireland. A group of 20 local councils have backed what has been dubbed a "Tesco Tax" in order to increase revenues which they say would be invested in the local community. Businesses already pay business rates and we contribute to their profits by shopping there. Any tax increase will be paid by us indirectly with price increases. The problem is the council tax and business rates we pay locally are used by the council to fritter away on hairbrained schemes to enhance their egos and political friends. Things are getting out of hand in the UK with decreasing value in the money you earn and spend. It's also not about keeping the money local, but keeping it in the country - a lot of it is taken offshore. Maybe the councils can ask Cameron to do something about this instead of trying to rattle sabres with Putin.

Agree totally dippy. Walking around town you can't see through the windows for sale posters that have been in the window for years. Makes retailing tacky and complements the rubbish blowing through High Town. This site has some good advice on how to treat your first point of sale when attracting shoppers. How to Design a Window Display How to Create and Make a Window Display The Art of Retail Window Displays Retail design works on the premise that, if customers find a commercial space appealing, they will want to spend time there and, therefore, buy products. Retail design can take in store frontage, lighting, furniture, point of sale displays, merchandising and signage. Good retail design influences customer perception of a business and its concept. A store that sells high-end clothing, for example, will be designed to convey the same message, while a store that sells teenage clothing will be youthful and hip. Maybe we can post a few photos of good and poor examples of window display in the city, along the lines of empty shops that Colin did.

Should be able to afford a brush and pan between them. Maybe now Andrew McNaughton has left he can spend a few hours in Hereford High Town tidying up. These mergers are too big. About time the jobs returned to local companies. What is certain if these two merge is that there will be more jobs going.

Six months on from the begiinning of this topic and two letters in the Hereford Times confirm it's still the same. 10:20am Thursday 24th July 2014 in Letters Barry Morris and Catherine Pullin write to say litter is a real eyesore in Hereford. and I suppose Balfour Beatty think these people are talking rubbish. Get a Locality Steward out to look at the problem and do something.

The Teckal case established that, under certain circumstances, a contract let to a third party will not count as a public service contract if “the local authority exercises over the person [ie the company] concerned a control which is similar to that which it exercises over its own departments and, at the same time, that person carries out the essential part of its activities with the controlling local authority or authoritiesâ€. These two elements have been called the control and function tests. These are examined in more detail below. The recent case of RMP v Brent [4] (one of the LAML cases) confirmed that the Teckal exception applies to the Regulations. Further, the proposed new procurement directive [5] incorporates the Teckal control test, with the function test being clarified as a requirement for the company to undertake at least 90% of its activities for the owner public authorities. This Directive is expected to come into force in June 2014. If a body is put forward as a Teckal ‘in-house’ company, then it will qualify as a ‘body governed by public law’ and will have to comply with public procurement law when letting contracts on behalf of its owner authorities.

Hello Dippy: Yes, two companies. The council will go for this method of operation as it has the magic word "transformation" in the clause. No matter what happens "tranformation" will sort it out. I suppose they will have to have another tier of management to run the two. Looks like pay rises on the way for the chosen few. A lot of statistics under item 5 Quarterly Performance Report inviting Cabinet Members to consider performance for the first quarter of 2014/15 following the Quarterly Performance Review held on 15 July 2014. Notice under Performance Measure in the APPENDIX C - ECC Databook Jos created in the first quarter of 2014: Along way to go if they intend to create 1500 by December 2015.

Correct. But it illustrates a point that these commisioners are not value for money. As Nigel says no one has ever heard of Bill Longmore.

Agenda Cabinet Thursday 31 July 2014 2.00 pm item 8. Marches Local Enterprise Partnership To approve governance arrangements for the joint exercise of executive functions in relation to the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (the LEP). Additional documents: APPENDIX A LEP Report APPENDIX B LEP Report I can see more of our money being siphoned off to this unelected body. Amazing that the council cut all the local services and then create another empire to get fat on. Is The Marches LEP the new Hereford Futures? Plenty of other issues on this agenda including Hoople.

Agenda Cabinet Thursday 31 July 2014 2.00 pm item 8. Marches Local Enterprise Partnership To approve governance arrangements for the joint exercise of executive functions in relation to the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (the LEP). Additional documents: APPENDIX A LEP Report APPENDIX B LEP Report I can see more of our money being siphoned off to this unelected body. Amazing that the council cut all the local services and then create another empire to get fat on. Is The Marches LEP the new Hereford Futures? Plenty of other issues on this agenda including Hoople.

With all the misery UKAR create, this video on the same day in the Nottingham Post brings a ray of sunshine for a young couple. Just don't go to UKAR for a mortgage.

Don't believe them. They will give you a mortgage with one hand and take your house with the other. As somebody has commented in the Nottingham Post, UKAR is a state owned company, we are all in this together. Mug shots of UKAR's Directors - nice people

Note the majority of Diectors of UK Asset Resolution Limited are also Directors of Bradford & Bingley. Nice to keep the money extortion in house.

Lead story in the Nottingham Post.

UK Coumn video today with Guy Taylor in Nottingham and supporters to prevent eviction by bailiffs. Great people power. Video archived to here after 24 hours.

The Guardian 21st July 2014 Maybe this is why there are less policeman on the street locally.

Regulatory Sub Committee Wednesday 30 July 2014 10.00 am item 5 Application for grant of a premises licence in respect of SFS Off Licence Shop, 60 Commercial Road, Hereford, HR1 2BP - Licensing Act 2003 To consider an application for the grant of a premises licence in respect of SFS Off Licence Shop, 60 Commercial Road, Hereford, HR1 2BP. Additional documents: Appendix A - Application Form Appendix B - Current Licence Appendix C - Police Representation Appendix D - Local Authority Representation Appendix E - Correspondence between Applicant and Police Looks like they want to hit this on the head before it sets a precedent.

Council News today: Early successes for Herefordshire’s locality stewards - on behalf of Balfour Beatty Living Places 21 July 2014 A team of local road experts are hitting the ground running as they tackle a backlog of repairs on Herefordshire’s more than 2,000-mile network. Balfour Beatty Living Places (BBLP), contracted by Herefordshire Council to provide road maintenance, is recruiting locality stewards to serve every ward. Although the full line-up won’t be in place until mid-August, the scheme is already proving a success. Newly appointed locality steward Phil Pankhurst took up the cause in Brimfield, where local people had complained for years about the state of the roads, particularly Wyson Lane, which is used extensively by school buses and commuter traffic. The locality stewards provide a vital link between Ward and Parish Councillors, and Balfour Beatty operations. Brimfield councillor John Stone was full of praise for what Phil has already achieved. Herefordshire Council is making a major investment in the county’s highways over the next two years, spending an extra £20 million fixing roads that are in the greatest need of repair and have the greatest value to local communities. But even that figure falls short of the estimated £100 million needed to return the county’s highways to 'as new' throughout. Other schemes are now being fast tracked including replacing rusty gullies in Stoke Prior and resurfacing at Mansel Lacy and West Hope Hill in Weobley The Locality Stewards team is just one of a series of initiatives being implemented by BBLP on behalf of Herefordshire Council. Last year BBLP won the council contract to look after Herefordshire’s road maintenance, street lighting and cleaning as well as the responsibility for public rights of way, parks and open spaces. Thirteen locality stewards are being appointed to look after nine localities, Bromyard, Kington, Mortimer, Golden Valley, Ledbury, Ross-on-Wye, Hereford, Leominster and Weobley. Rachel Dixon, looking after the Mortimer in the north of the county, said the job was all about prioritising the needs of her patch including roads, pathways, rights of way, parks and open spaces. BBLP’s lengthsman scheme, where parishes employ someone to inspect and clear drains and gullies regularly, is also beginning to make a difference too. BB have had the cotract for over a year. It's about time something was seen to be done. Regarding the 13 locailty stewards - maybe not as knowledgeable as the 30 local people they made redundant. Who's responsible for Hereford. Time to introduce yourself on this forum. Regarding the provision of materials, it is the council tax payer who is paying for this out of the £200 million being paid to BB over the next 10 years. In Wiltshire they have withheld their payments to BB until they get their act together. “The service being provided isn’t good enough,†the council’s deputy leader John Thomson admitted to members in a briefing note.

In The Guardian today: How WELL do you know YOUR area? Seven questions that will tell you how well you know your local area This interactive quiz by the data visualisation centre at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) tests your demographic knowledge about where you live. Pop in your postcode and answer the questions to see if you're a local expert - you might be surprised by what you find out. Who made this? The ONS Data Visualisation Centre My local knowledge rating of Belmont 59% Not bad, but room for improvement I wonder how well our councillors would do?

Nice of you to add this information to our site and get an experienced voice to add comments to our forum. I came across this on your website a few weeks ago and have been watching some of your videos in the council chamber at Wirral, although it is a problem to get the sound right. This should put the wind up our lot here in Herefordshire. Gives "You've Been Framed" a new area to look into. Maybe Bobby 47 can do the voiceover for the clips. Dippy can be director, Biomech with clapperboard, Flamboyant on lighting and Denise on make up. All we need now is someone to do the on-set catering. Do you think The Commercial would do this Bobby?

Ambulance boss now earning £232,000 a year after landing himself a £50,000 pay rise for taking on another service Article in the Daily Mail today about another public worthy being paid a write your own cheque salary. Amazing that they couldn't find anyone else to do the job on half the salary. Tom Watson, Labour MP for West Bromwich East, said: “This man is probably the highest paid public servant in the West Midlands and nobody has ever heard of him. A good example of where you pay someone more money to make savings!

Just looking through up and coming events at Hereford Civic Society and notice this publication the society has released for Summer 2014. Eight bumper pages with all the local issues raised. Note that they are having a "Question Time" style debate in September. No Nigel Farage! Special Event - Question Time Local politicians and activists answer your questions Lucy Hurds - Liberal candidate for Parliament Cllr. Tony Johnson - Leader, Herefordshire Council Liz Morawiecka - Here4Hereford Cllr. Anthony Powers - Leader, It’s Our County 18th September 2014 - 7.30 pm St.John’s Methodist Church St.Owen’s Street, Hereford, HR1 2PR

New service hours by the Post Office. Opening later each day and on Sunday. Westfields 90 Grandstand Road Westfields Hereford HR4 9PQ Opening times Mon 06:00 - 23:00 Tue 06:00 - 23:00 Wed 06:00 - 23:00 Thu 06:00 - 23:00 Fri 06:00 - 23:00 Sat 06:00 - 23:00 Sun 06:00 - 23:00

New service hours by the Post Office. Opening later each day and on Sunday. The Oval 7 The Oval Belmont Road Hereford HR2 7HG Opening times Mon 08:00 - 18:00 Tue 08:00 - 18:00 Wed 08:00 - 18:00 Thu 08:00 - 18:00 Fri 08:00 - 18:00 Sat 08:00 - 18:00 Sun 09:00 - 12:00