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The Town Centre is Disgusting


Biomech

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More fool me, I went into town today.

 

Nothings changed, I need some ink for my printer, WHSmith was sold out, Cartridge World has moved to Holmer and the other places have closed. So I did the usual walk all over town looking for a basic product while being consistently hassled by the clipboard people* and finally picked up the very last 1 in Argos.

 

While in town hunting for such a simple item (do you know Tesco doesn't sell pastry/cake cutters/shapes at all?), I noticed bins full to the brim, some with nappies stuffed in the tops, cigarette (phag is censored?) buts EVERYWHERE outside Tesco/Cash Machines and Chadds.... the only words to describe what I saw there is "f*** me". There are (penises) drawn in the dirt on the unbelievably filthy windows and the door ways are FULL of pi*% and vomit.

 

Which basically brings me to ask - Does anyone EVER clean the streets?

 

While I often drive through between 2am-5am, I haven't pulled an all nighter for a long time. I know I haven't seen a street cleaner out for over 10 years.

 

If you can stomach it, I'd urge you all to just have a glance into the Chadds doorways next time you're in town.

 

 

* Something needs to be done about them. Why can't they stick to a plot like the Sky salesmen?

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Leaving aside what shops do or don't sell, the town centre IS disgustingly dirty and run down. The built environment - paths, roads, signs, street furniture etc is all dirty or broken, potholed, waterlogged, graffitied, and generally unpleasant. I am at a loss as to why no one responsible will do anything about it. 

 

I was talking to someone from the Enterprise Zone board recently - he was despairing of anything happening there because of Council intransigence. He said he's ashamed to show prospective investors around Rotherwas  because it's so dirty and rundown - and he's been told so by them - just take a look at the entrance opposite Thorn House - completely knackered road, overgrown verges, litter, flyposting - frankly, it looks a dump. He's pleaded with the Council to do basic housekeeping but NO ONE will do ANYTHING about it.

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Actually the problem is that I resent having to travel all over town to find things that most people would consider common.

I asked in Tesco and was told they weren't sold, I bought them on my 3rd trip to Wilkos - who didn't sell the ink. I thought Cartridge World was in Broad Street, I went there and saw nothing.

 

None of this negates the fact that it's difficult to find basic items in Hereford AND that the place looks like a **** tip. If you honestly think that piles of sick, pi*%, curry and cigarette butts filling doorways with grimy windows with dicks drawn on them is acceptable, then I'm sorry but you're a ******* moron.

 

Yes I can find fault, but only were fault exists. I can also appreciate things done properly, of which there is a massive lack in Hereford. All today has done is give me more reason not to go into town.

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Not only is the town centre a mess, but plenty of others places one comes across look pretty depressing and untidy. I cycle back and forwards across the city to work every day and the passage from Canal Road to Morrisons is an absolute disgrace. I know its a private road, but it is public litter which is being discarded along this route everyday. Also the drop kerb at the Canal Road end has lifted and now presents a danger to cyclists and pedestrians. 

 

On my way home this afternoon along Great Western Way I noticed that the clearing of the undergrowth along the edges of the route have been extended into the established trees. The result is a complete mess with broken and slashed branches. Close to home at Sherborne Close I cycled through black bag rubbish strewn over the footway and outside residents' windows, but nobody seems to care. This has been ongoing for years.

 

On arrival at home I telephoned 261800 to report the raised kerb, but after two attempts gave up and rang the council's main number 260000. The gentleman on reception said he couldn't take a message concerning the kerb and immediately put me back to the number which I tried earlier to no avail. 

 

Its about time some heads were banged together and a plan put together to tidy up the city, before the tourists arrive. However until the city and county are tidied up they won't need directions to find the city, they just need to follow the litter strewn along the main roads and in the hedgerows.

 

Maybe we can have a dedicated post with photograhs of the city litter problem and also the bombed out sites as per Colin's empty shops. I'll get my camera out and post some up in the next few days.

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I accept that not everything can be maintained to 100%, 100% of the time. But there's a huge difference between some overgrown bushes and shop doorways full of sick and human **** and bins overflowing with rubbish and cigarette pieces coating the floor. I only go to town now to bank cheques, the next time I have one, I'll take some photos.

 

But don't worry, Aylestone Voice has come up with the great idea that whenever we have a bad experience with anything, we should just tell everyone how amazing it was.

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I now get my ink cartridges from Ryman's but I used to go to Paperway -- though they'd cut down their range gradually in the year or so before they closed.

 

I used to get my biscuit cutters (not that I do loads of baking) from Cookway (?) on Widemarsh Street,  near the Hibiscus room, but that's shut now.

 

I do prefer to go into shops and look at things before I buy. The problem with internet shopping, as with traditional mail order (remember those huge, thick catalogues?) and indeed Argos, is that you do not really know what you are getting until it arrives. (I suppose ink cartridges you might as well get online anyway).

 

Plus I sometimes just like to get out of the house, of all things.

 

The amount of dog faeces on the way down College Rd, over the railway bridge and onto Widemarsh St is amazing, it's such a hazard. Loads of manure.

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Okay folks please calm it down as it's getting a little personal now which is totally unnecessary. We clearly do not all share the same views and our opinions will differ, but we should equally respect each others whether we agree or not. 

Personally, I think the council have a duty to keep the city clean and I must admit the doorway at the Chadds old shop and the passageway alongside McDonalds is pretty bad. 

 

Maybe one of our Councillors can point us in the right direction on whom we should report this too?

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Its Balfour Beatty. Please log it via fixmystreet.com, sit back and wait ... and wait. They’ll do nothing, other than take the money, but it will be independently logged. If you report it to either the council or BB, they just bin it - that's a fact. It’s a scandal our councillors slept walked into and will do nothing about. We have no option but to pay council tax to fund a private business and shareholder bonuses with little in return. We're talking £1.6m a month here, so its not peanuts! Pointless contacting Cllr Hubbard, its not his ward. 

 

Its not just Roman Road, it’s the whole city, the whole county. NO routine maintenance is done anymore - it was abandoned when Amey took over and someone thought reactive maintenance was the way to go, probably  because they would make more money that way. As a result, the county's biggest financial asset, its 4000 miles of roads, valued at £100's of millions (I'll find the exact figure) is grossly neglected, at the tipping point of being irretrievable without huge investment, which of course we no longer have. Its about time councillors bucked up their ideas and started asking awkward questions, but I won't hold my breath on that one.

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Why spend money fixing something now, wait until it breaks and then fix it.

 

 

You mean fix it at the lowest possible cost and repeat every few weeks instead of fixing it properly the first time.

 

The way this council wastes money is synonymous with taking private taxi's to work every day of the year instead of buying a car.

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Hereford Times 24th January 2014 in Letters

 
Martin Field says we all need to do our bit to tackle litter issue
 
THE amount of rubbish being deposited on some of our roads is simply appalling. In my own part of Herefordshire there are drink cans, food wrappers, bottles and other items either dropped at the side of the road (or in my garden!) or thrown from passing cars. They act as a disfigurement to an otherwise very attractive county.
 
What to do?
Our district council is cutting back on essential services and obviously cannot afford to take care of minor problems such as litter. Organised litter picks have been very successful in a number of areas but they require specialised equipment and high-visibility jackets and have to conform to various rules.
 
In this day and age I wouldn’t be at all surprised if hard hats, insurance and reinforced footwear were also specified.
 
The town of Frome in Somerset - no relation to our own Frome Valley - had a massive clean-up operation in November.
 
Afterwards, town clerk Paul Wynne said that “If everyone picked up just one piece of rubbish and put it in the bin every day, our town would be spotless.â€
 
Could we not introduce a similar scheme for Herefordshire? While walking to the local shop, school or workplace, if we were each to pick up one can, or one food container it would make a huge difference to our surroundings.
 
There would be no impact on council tax, there would be no need for expensive clothing and ‘health and safety’ precautions, and it would give each participant a sense of personal satisfaction at having struck back against the litter louts who have no interest in their surroundings.
 
I picked up my first piece of rubbish this morning. Maybe this could become an official campaign?
 
MARTIN FIELD, Burley Gate, Hereford

 

It would be helpful if people started by picking up the litter outside their house and in their street.

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Must say that trying to get Amey to have a road sweeper down the path where I lived used to be a joke.Even when I finally got them to come every two weeks that only lasted for three months then it was back to ringing the Council who done a log complaint which nearly always fell on deaf ears.
Now that Balfour do it they are here every week including a couple of ladies picking up rubbish and cleaning out bins.Happy days

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I have three problems with litter picking volunteers.

 

1) I'm not adverse to picking up things caught in my bushes, but I'm sure as hell not going to be cleaning up sick and **** from empty shop doorways

2) Litter picking volunteers give people an excuse to litter - it's ok to throw it on the floor because someone else will pick it up*

3) I'm paying for refuse collection, if this isn't happening, I want my money back for the lack of services.

 

 

* I realise that council workers would be doing this, however, I think it's unfair to put the onus on public volunteers when the people being paid to do the job should be doing it.

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megilleland the areas in your link all belong to Herefordshire Housing, and as I said in one of my many posts I ask HH to put skips up there, they chose not to do that, where I appreciate litter is a problem in this area it does not help to put up pictures some of which are a few years old. As you know We have found out who is doing the fly tipping I get it cleared, only to have it happen again within 24 hours. It is up to HH to come down hard on their tenants!!! I used to go out with some of my tenants even got the MP to come out on regular litter picks but cannot do it now on a regular basis due to other council work and work for my constituents. While I appreciate what you do, I cannot do anymore if HH doesn't do anything about their tenants!

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