twowheelsgood

Harold Street not Bath Street. The records office will be demolished and replaced with a two and three storey new build. The application reads; Demolish existing building and construct a new boarding house to accommodate 49 pupils, nurse bedroom, houseparent accommodation, housetutors flat and overnight staff room.

http://tinyurl.com/hwh4nnv Advertising signs http://tinyurl.com/hoyvnf4 Scheme as below;

There is a kiosk with a sales floor and cash tills in the approved scheme - similar size to the Ledbury Road Tesco one. Just for the record, here's how the planning committee voting went on this one; A named vote was requested. For (9): Councillors BA Baker, CR Butler, PGH Cutter, KS Guthrie, J Hardwick, JLV Kenyon, RI Mathews, WC Skelton, and EJ Swinglehurst. Against (6): Councillors DW Greenow, EL Holton, FM Norman, AJW Powers, A Seldon, and LC Tawn. Abstain (1): Councillor TM James Ward Cllr Chappell spoke strongly against the application, favouring the original residential use.

More money in fuel than houses - let down once again by councillors. We were sold the original Asda master plan with the help of a flagship entrance to the City - high quality housing - as part of the overall plan - but as with all long term master plans, this council are incapable of (and not interested in) sticking to them - ESG for instance - so the money men skim the cream off the top and depart and we lose.

Looking at the proposed programme for this project proves once again my theory that Council's do very little but constantly re-organise. This allows them to break audit chains and give themselves new job titles on a regular basis and busy themselves setting up this, that and the other, for as long as it takes until the next reorganisation is planned. So, the programme shows that Blueschool House decants to Town Hall, Town Hall moves to Shire Hall, Plough Lane moves to Town Hall, Blueschool House moves to Plough Lane, Shire Hall moves to Nelson House, Franklin House moves to Blueschool House. New name badges all round. Brilliant! Joe Public won't have a clue whats going on, or be able to get hold of anyone, which is just the way the Council like it. GB Liners will have a busy year as well.

The company is listed - I understand the government is paying for the lions share of this work, inc the consultants, hence the cheap and nasty tat being foisted on us. Ward councillor Polly Andrews response to me and others is 'we (ie the Council) don't have much say in the matter' - well, I beg to differ. Councillors are elected by residents to serve us, not to roll over when big brother comes along throwing his weight about. Can she in all conscience stand by and let this happen? The earlier scheme, which looked like an eastern bloc interrogation centre (and not like the picture at all), has been amended to the other extreme to now look like a legoland box. PSHub have not a jot of design sensibility. The dark red to the left hand side by the way is misrepresented - it is actually a bright red formica panelling - 10m from the Scheduled Monument of the City Wall. A travesty - please object - disregard the 'comments are closed' on the website and email Ed Thomas directly - ethomas@herefordshire.gov.uk ref P161565/CD3. The deadline now is 11 August, so hurry! As an aside, I heard that the Council press team knew nothing about this proposal until they saw it in the Hereford Times!

No they won't - they've hit on the magical formula of the less they do, the more they get paid - £13m for the first 5 months of this year - and yet, the City is dirtier and more run down than ever, roads are failing etc, etc, we've said it all before, but no one in power cares.

Here you go - http://tinyurl.com/gkuxd3y Demolish existing building and construct a new boarding house to accommodate 49 pupils, nurse bedroom, houseparent accommodation, housetutors flat and overnight staff room. Looks like a very nice quality scheme to me - a million times better than the truly awful 'makeover' of Blueschool House (which the Civic Society are railing against*). I would however like to see some recognition of the historical context of the old buildings. * off topic I know, but please write in and object to this if at all possible - it's as close to legoland as you could get - to be clad in bright red formica!

What is the point of any Council consultation, save to tick a box? It's already been decided by the closed door cabinet cabal.

Finally, after 8+ weeks, the dingy mattresses are gone. Maybe the £4m July payment was just about enough to make it worth doing (at the expense of something else though, like GWW).

And refunded part of your Council Tax. Will wages be Balfour Beatty rates or mere human rates?

Does that move it on at all? The site value has been increased with the addition of flats, but nothing more than that really. The Council need to aggressively follow through with their earlier statements ...

Yes, TLC every day to stay on top of things. That is the problem. Balfour Beatty sacked the local guy, who had cleaned the city for years and knew all the issues, as soon as they took over. I don't think its been cleaned properly since then. It's filthy. It's not until you go elsewhere and then come back that you realise just how filthy. Less cleaning = more profit.

Hereford BID bought that - but you're right, what did happen to it.

Crikey! Crikey! I thought you were talking about a few posters stuck to lampposts - not full blown expensive banners! These would cost £hundreds each - to what end? Another pointless box ticking and money spending exercise.

The problem is we have paid for it to be done via the Council Tax! I've just spent two weeks cycling in Gwynedd - wow, the contrast with Herefordshire could not be greater. A smaller population (120k v 180k) over a much larger area, yet the roads are near perfect, the verges are cut, pavements are smooth (and clean), there is NO litter, the street bins are emptied every day, the toilets are open and free, the car parks are reasonably priced and a lot are free, there are regular buses, there are tourist offices and so on. Big difference - they haven't hived off their essential services to profit led private companies. We have no money because at least 25% profit is going to BBLP and others to distribute to shareholders rather than to do what we have paid for. As mgelliland has highlighted elsewhere, £2-£4m a MONTH is going to BBLP alone - what on earth is that being spent on?

Yes, the vegetation on that section of the riverside path is making progress difficult - particularly as there is a curve in the track where the overgrowth is worst, creating a complete blind spot. Apart from anything else, it's creating a dangerous environment where ne're-do-wells can lurk and pounce on the unsuspecting. Why do we have to lodge complaints with the Council to get stuff like this sorted? It's vegetation - it grows - put it in the schedule to trim it!

What do they say?

… who contacted BBLP, who did nothing … - still there.

Some extra-ordinary ineptness and absolutely no joined up thinking here - this is where Fir Tree Lane at Rotherwas was effectively cut in half by the new Skylon View Road. Fair enough, but where is the provision for cyclists and pedestrians? The Greenway cycle path is on the other side of the gate, the new Archive Centre is on this side - you can either get off your bike and climb through a makeshift gap in the hedge or cycle three sides of a large square to get to the Archive Centre, crossing a junction on the way. Why a gate? Just some bollards would have done the job. Choose How You Move, but don't be surprised to find a gate in the way.

I'm told the deadline came and went without any agreement being reached. The Council don't care - it suited their corrupt cause to use it to promote the hollow and now abandoned ESG/Hereford Futures - but are happy for the once 'jewel in the crown' to tarnish and fade away. Once again, we are sorely let down by over-paid and under-achieving officers and equally under-achieving Councillors.

Still there - let's call it an art installation for the City of Culture. I've now emailed the ward councillor ...

Let's not turn this into a helmet debate - there are plenty of those on cycling sites - save to say, where helmets have been made compulsory, cycle use has fallen. A lot. I usually wear a helmet, but I don't want to be forced to wear one.

Indeed, hence my reference in the original post to the historic site. As for the "informal public consultation", I understand this was as low key as possible - leafletting only Harold Street at very short notice, no other publicity at all. (AV - sorry for the down arrow - my fault - clicked the wrong button!)

This project is a tragic waste of limited resources - nothing but a sea of tarmac and traffic lights - the limit of BBLP's imagination and councillors interest. As for cycling provision - pah - they must have looked in the book of really stupid designs because this is some of the worst provision in the City. In fact, it's positively dangerous. I'll get some photos and report back - and yes, the stupid little lanes are already blocked by cars (not that any half sane person on a bike would use them anyway).