Roger Posted May 2, 2014 Report Posted May 2, 2014 Just to say the rubbish is still there, but will soon be covered by the undergrowth again. Why won't they clean it up - two years now? That split bag of rubbish has been outside the front door of The Town Hall for a few days ... Apparently it was still there this afternoon according to a comment on an article on the HT website ~ even tho the spokesperson for the Council said it should have been shifted by BB at 9 AM. If they can't deal with a bag of rubbish in town they are less likely to sort out rubbish strewn on the Great Western Way ... Hereford Times Quote
megilleland Posted May 2, 2014 Report Posted May 2, 2014 And the uncut grass around the estates looks unsightly - BB are just not interested and the Council fail to see outside of the OLM, that the rest of the city is slowly slipping into unkempt dereliction. dereliction (ˌdɛrɪˈlɪkʃən) — n 1. deliberate, conscious, or wilful neglect (esp in the phrase dereliction of duty ) 2. the act of abandoning or deserting or the state of being abandoned or deserted Quote
Roger Posted May 2, 2014 Author Report Posted May 2, 2014 And the uncut grass around the estates looks unsightly - BB are just not interested and the Council fail to see outside of the OLM, that the rest of the city is slowly slipping into unkempt dereliction. dereliction (ˌdɛrɪˈlɪkʃən) — n 1. deliberate, conscious, or wilful neglect (esp in the phrase dereliction of duty ) 2. the act of abandoning or deserting or the state of being abandoned or deserted Dereliction of duty! I completely agree! Driving down Aylestone Hill today into town the grass is shockingly long! And masses of dead dandelions! Loads of long grass everywhere! Churchill Gardens is a disgrace with that grass. If I let my own back garden fall into that state I'd probably attract a neighbour complaint and an enforcement notice off the Council! Perhaps they should receive one themselves for their neglect!? I read somewhere that the grass cutting has been reduced to 3 cuts a year because of the budget but if you visit and try and cut it when it's too long you just end up with a complete mess from the outset. And probably so much grass waste that you need a baler to remove it! Complete shambles! Quote
dippyhippy Posted May 2, 2014 Report Posted May 2, 2014 Absolutely agree! I looked the other day, to find a thread about the verges, but comments were closed on it! All the verges on White cross Road, Three Elms, Roman Road, and as Roger said, Aylestone Hill, are in an extremely overgrown state. Aylestone Hill in particular, is one of the main routes into the city, and creates a dreadful first impression for visitors. The whole place has a shabby, uncared for feeling, which does nothing to encourage folks to take some pride in where they live. I actually go out with a broom, and sweep my street-much to the amusement of a few of my neighbours, but I'm afraid I shan't be able to take the lawn mower up and down the White cross Road verges - for a start,my extension lead just isn't long enough! Quote
megilleland Posted May 2, 2014 Report Posted May 2, 2014 The council are obviously in cahoots with BB in not spending money on our local environment. Maybe its time to ask some pertinent questions about the service we are getting. A helpful guide "Council Accounts: A guide to your rights (Update July 2013) " can be found here. This extract sums up what individuals can do: Councils spend public money. The money comes from national and local taxes – as well as charges to users of services. Councils have a special responsibility to tell local residents and taxpayers how they spend your money. They do that by publishing yearly accounts and details of their spending. ‘Council accounts’ are the financial statements that most organisations have to produce at the end of the year – a balance sheet and summary of income and expenditure. But the term also covers all related documents used to make up the council’s accounts and any report by the external auditor about how the council organises itself to conduct its business. As a local resident, or interested party, you have legal rights which let you inspect your council’s accounts and related documents. If you are also a local elector (a person who has the right to vote in a local election or for members of a national parliament) you also have rights to: ■ask questions about the accounts, and ■object to them. This guide explains how you can use your rights responsibly. It explains what the law says about the accounts and your rights. And, if you have concerns about your council that are not about the accounts, it points you to other sources of advice and more information. Quote
Roger Posted May 5, 2014 Author Report Posted May 5, 2014 Perhaps Kip Waistell (registered on this forum) needs to issue the Council with some more Environment Notices ... ;-) Ex-solicitor gives Herefordshire Council a litter ultimatum9:02am Thursday 5th March 2009 in News A FORMER solicitor gaveHerefordshire Council an ultimatum last Monday as he stepped up his campaign to rid Hereford of litter at a court hearing thought to be the first of its kind. Michael ‘Kip’ Waistell asked magistrates to adjourn his case against the authority until October as a “last resort†in the hope its rubbish tackling methods could improve. He then produced a disposable cup he said was left in the city centre for months and said: “I am hoping I won’t have to prosecute but at the moment the place is such a mess and when you see things like this, it makes you want to weep.†The retired lawyer acted after notices he served under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 asking for specific areas to be tidied were apparently ignored. Hereford Times Quote
Roger Posted May 7, 2014 Author Report Posted May 7, 2014 The Council tweeted me this afternoon to alert me to their news release of today ... Grass cutting and street cleansing service changes 07 May 2014 Grass cutting frequencies will be reduce from seven times per year to three as Herefordshire Council delivers £33milion pounds of savings while ensuring it can maintain its priority services. The Annual Plan delivered by Balfour Beatty Living Places, outlines how services will be delivered over the coming year and identifies how the council will make savings within the Public Realm revenue budget. Grass cutting and street cleansing will cost Herefordshire almost £2million this year. This is a significant element of the annual expenditure on highways services. Cllr Price said Balfour Beatty’s Annual Plan will be considered by Cllr Price, cabinet member for infrastructure next week and will be published to the council’s website www.herefordshire.gov.uk “We’ve had to tailor the resource levels to meet the budget but we will continue to keep the highway safe by cutting the visibility splays, carrying out weed spraying and maintaining the trees. We have improved the efficiency of the remaining resources through better deployment and scheduling, and by setting clear, productive targets. Despite this we need to reduce all grass cutting frequencies from the current seven times a year to three times a year, although rural verge cutting will remain the same. We will also look to develop community grass cutting schemes so that communities can set their own priorities. On the positive side, we will see the largest single investment into Herefordshire’s highway network for many years. The capital budget for 2014/15 has been increased by £24.9m from £10.4m to £34.26m and this extra money will be used to improve the overall standard of the network through a programme of drainage and re-surfacing works. This will make a significant difference to the state of the counties roads.†Herefordshire Council This was in response to me sending a picture to them showing what Churchill Gardens looked like AFTER it had been cut yesterday ... Quote
megilleland Posted May 7, 2014 Report Posted May 7, 2014 I understand the councils have had over a thousand complaints. That's a lot of votes to pick up in the coming local elections - that is if we can find the polling stations. Quote
dippyhippy Posted May 7, 2014 Report Posted May 7, 2014 Well, Yazor Road verges were strimmed today....or should I say hacked at. There was so much grass blowing around and across the road, it almost looked worse! The schedule they are working to, is less than half in previous years.....where DOES all that money go, and why was this agreed AFTER Balfour Beatty had been given the contract?? Surely this sort of thing should already have been negotiated and agreed? I may be missing a trick here, but it seems to me that BB have got the money, and are now doing less....... Quote
Roger Posted May 7, 2014 Author Report Posted May 7, 2014 I may be missing a trick here, but it seems to me that BB have got the money, and are now doing less....... This is all chaos. The contract must have stipulated minimum grass cutting ? 3 cuts is stupidly low as grass grows! I think I might just end up posting long grass pics to Herefordshire Council! Quote
Roger Posted May 8, 2014 Author Report Posted May 8, 2014 A visitor review after a visit to Hereford ... Via Twitter ... Quote
Denise Lloyd Posted May 8, 2014 Report Posted May 8, 2014 There are lots of children's play areas not being mown. This is forcing young children to play in the streets. Who would want their child playing in long grass - goodness knows what that is hiding. Surely HC are failing on a Health and Safety issue. Quote
chrisbull Posted May 8, 2014 Report Posted May 8, 2014 And were are all the flowers this year all the flower beds in the city are overgrown or bare. If they can't afford bedding plants just throw some wild flower seeds down they will come up every year and hardly cost anything.I know in Bristol they have wild flowers growing in the flower beds and it looks welcoming.Not like this city. Quote
Roger Posted May 19, 2014 Author Report Posted May 19, 2014 Hereford City Council have released a statement about grass cutting on Twitter today. Link Quote
stupidfrustration Posted May 19, 2014 Report Posted May 19, 2014 Good on them - but I also think it shows what a bad state of affairs we must be in for this to be cut back. Quote
twowheelsgood Posted May 19, 2014 Report Posted May 19, 2014 What about the admin cost of contacting the council to get permission to cut their grass? No doubt forms would be involved, which would have to be mailed out, checked on return, approval mailed out - would this be cheaper than getting the grass cut? Of course not. Never mind the nightmare for the hapless citizen trying to contact the council in the first place via their unhelpful switchboard (in Liverpool I hear). Quote
Denise Lloyd Posted May 19, 2014 Report Posted May 19, 2014 What false economy this is. It will take longer to cut and it will take longer to restore to it's former glory - green grass. If a private garden is left untouched it is a devil's own job to get it back. In my travels over the weekend it occurred to me that when housing developments are built the Council always specify an area of green/play area which the Council are responsible for the upkeep thereof. How fed up these people who bought their houses facing these green areas must feel. The majority of us try to keep a reasonably tidy garden but this is being counteracted by the damned weeds blowing because of the failure of the Council. HC would have been well advised to keep joe public on side and then they would have the support they are obviously looking for. However bad things are at the Council I expect they still pick up their big fat pay packets at the end of the month. Things are only really bad when that doesn't happen - I know! Could somebody please explain the last para to me. Quote
dippyhippy Posted May 19, 2014 Report Posted May 19, 2014 I don't know if anybody else spotted this comment over at HT, but a poster says the actual grass cutting schedule was 14, not 7! For this to be reduced to just three, is pretty unbelievable. Its little wonder the place looks so unkempt and uncared for. Quote
Roger Posted May 19, 2014 Author Report Posted May 19, 2014 I don't know if anybody else spotted this comment over at HT, but a poster says the actual grass cutting schedule was 14, not 7! For this to be reduced to just three, is pretty unbelievable. Its little wonder the place looks so unkempt and uncared for. Saw that ... Took this today ... Triffid type plants' are even growing ... It's totally gone to the dogs'! Quote
Roger Posted October 6, 2014 Author Report Posted October 6, 2014 Today. Opposite Hereford Railway Station. Quote
dippyhippy Posted October 6, 2014 Report Posted October 6, 2014 Roger! You're alive! Blimey. I just checked your profile, and the last post you made was on September 23rd! I was beginning to worry! Anyways.....that photo is a shocker. What impression does this give to folks hopping off the train at Hereford Railway Station??? Not a great one. Quote
Roger Posted October 6, 2014 Author Report Posted October 6, 2014 I been out of town a fair bit so not had time to post anything ... Like you say ... Not a great sight to greet visitors ... Apparently it's been like that for more than a couple of weeks according to Leon Oldman who took this picture below... I have drawn the attention of the council to it on Twitter so we'll see what happens ... Quote
twowheelsgood Posted October 6, 2014 Report Posted October 6, 2014 Presumably this is the result of Balfour Beatty 'letting go' many long serving street cleaners to make more money for shareholders - what a disgusting mess. I despair for the future of this City. Once again citizens have to chase down the council to get them to do the job they're paid to do (or rather, they pay someone else to do). Looking at both pictures - the two coffee cups on top of the bin and some of the other rubbish appears to be the same - so it seems it has been there at least a couple of weeks. Quote
Roger Posted October 6, 2014 Author Report Posted October 6, 2014 I think both pictures were taken today ... Mine was and I think Leon's was as well ... What I can't get my head round is that the dog mess bins in Churchill Gardens get emptied at least once, if not twice, a day ... There must be a rota of work that doesn't factor in that bin ... Is that area in a grey hole tho? People seem to park in a line by that post box ... Is this free parking? Who owns it? It appears to be a Council bin tho .... Quote
ragwert Posted October 6, 2014 Report Posted October 6, 2014 I think both pictures were taken today ... Mine was and I think Leon's was as well ... What I can't get my head round is that the dog mess bins in Churchill Gardens get emptied at least once, if not twice, a day ... There must be a rota of work that doesn't factor in that bin ... Is that area in a grey hole tho? People seem to park in a line by that post box ... Is this free parking? Who owns it? It appears to be a Council bin tho .... I think you have a point Roger. It could belong to the post office Quote
Roger Posted October 10, 2014 Author Report Posted October 10, 2014 @rwolfie777 (Twitter) reports that this bin at Station Approach has finally been emptied today ... As a bonus a couple of weeds were removed as well ... Quote
dippyhippy Posted October 10, 2014 Report Posted October 10, 2014 Good news! There was a bin on Whitecross Road by Woody's Angling Shop, which was in the same state....that has also been cleared. Perhaps they are having a blitz on bins??? Quote
twowheelsgood Posted October 10, 2014 Report Posted October 10, 2014 @rwolfie777 (Twitter) reports that this bin at Station Approach has finally been emptied today ... As a bonus a couple of weeds were removed as well ... Full hi-viz AND a hard hat to empty bins - the madness of it all ... Quote
Clarkester Posted October 10, 2014 Report Posted October 10, 2014 I don't blame them TwoWheels! I was once emptying one bin into another bin, down the bottom of the garden, when a gust of what I can only describe as 'wind' blew up an empty Kit Kat Chunky (Peanut Butter variety) wrapper. In the resulting confusion, the swirling wrapper struck me thricely on the noggin. Suffice to say, from that moment on, I always, always now wear my motorcycle helmet whenever I empty one bin into another bin at the bottom of the garden. You just don't know when a moment like what happened to me will happen again. I know what you're thinking... You're thinking "That wouldn't happen to me, I don't even like Kit Kat Chunky (Peanut Butter Flavour)" But what if you had a visitor that had eaten a Kit Kat Chunky (Peanut Butter flavour) and that visitor had put the empty wrapper in the bin you were about to empty into another bin at the bottom of your garden? What then? Quote
Colin James Posted October 10, 2014 Report Posted October 10, 2014 Good news! There was a bin on Whitecross Road by Woody's Angling Shop, which was in the same state....that has also been cleared. Perhaps they are having a blitz on bins??? Beyond belief lol Quote
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