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    Countdown to General Election 7th May 2015

    megilleland
    By megilleland,
     
    An important year for all concerned. Let's hope that it turns out better this time round - I have had enough of this government's inflicted misery. Only 65% of the electorate voted with 36.1% of them voting Conservative, 29% voting Lib Dem, 23% voting and 11.9% voting for others.
     
    Any ideas on which way this years election is going to pan out? I imagine we will be told all the usual lies leading up to the general election and find ourselves, back where we started, in the mire again. No change for the plebs.
     
    An interesting article in The Mail on Sunday by Sir Roy Strong looking ahead to what 2015 has in store. Found I agreed with a lot he said.
     
    A distinguished commentator's brilliant analysis of what the New Year has in store: Our longest serving monarch? Meltdown for the ruling class? Historian and author SIR ROY STRONG says: Roll on, 2015!
     
    The Queen will become Britain's longest-serving monarch on September 9, surpassing the reign of her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria
     
    Next year sees a milestone in British history. On September 9, our present monarch will have reigned longer than her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, making her the longest serving in our history. 
     
    Like Victoria, Elizabeth II has come in old age to be a hugely venerated figure. The majority of the population cannot remember a time without her. Indeed, most Britons will have been born during her reign.
     
    And yet there remains the fact that we are at the close of the second Elizabethan age. Students of history will tell you that the final years of any era are characterised by uncertainty. 
     
    Certainly, the modus operandi of the House of Windsor – a style that was set by Edward VII and has continued pretty much unaltered ever since – will eventually have to change to meet the challenges of a new generation and a new century.
     
    We are unlikely to witness that change in 2015, because we are fortunate in having a monarch who seems set for more years of being both happy and glorious. But putting that piece of good news to one side, few people will deny that there is a general malaise in society, a feeling of unease, dissatisfaction and disillusionment.
     
    I don’t think that in all my 80 years (I will be that age next August) I have registered such an all-pervading sense of the lack of direction. Who are we and where are we going? We no longer seem to know.
     
    In my lifetime there was the clear and optimistic post-war vision of the 1940s and 1950s in the Welfare State after the deprivation of the war. It gave the population free healthcare and access to the talented, by means of grants and scholarships, to higher education.
     
    Then came the ‘you’ve never had it so good’ era of Harold Macmillan, which lifted the material living standards of the average citizen to undreamed of heights. After the ghastly, turbulent blip of the 1970s came the Thatcherite vision of a free enterprise society, rewarding energy and hard work by banishing the chains of state ownership and bureaucracy.
     
    Yet David Cameron’s initial concept of the ‘Big Society’ vanished down the tubes pretty quickly, to be followed by his somewhat dispiriting ‘We’re all in this together’. And indeed so we are, but it seems with no sign of ever getting out of it.
     
    The General Election in May is certainly going to be one of, if not the, landmark elections since 1945.
     
    Until now, the various parties presented visions as to where we were heading, ones which the different constituent parts of the island could share – whether urban or rural, north or south. Alas, with the advent of the campaign for Scottish independence, any hope of such united aspirations is vanishing fast.
     
    The irony is that the initial loss of the vote for independence, which was thought to be the last word on the topic, has in fact turned out to be the exact reverse. In many ways it has intensified the campaign and brought retribution on the Labour Party north of the border.
     
    We forget that the Union is only 300 years old and wasn’t popular then. Scotland has a separate legal system and national church among a litany of other institutions that spell separation rather than togetherness.
     
    And then where does the monarchy fit into this new scheme of things? Strictly speaking, the Queen is Elizabeth I of Scotland and II of England; an adjustment to her formal title should have been made in 1998, the year of devolution. We seem to have forgotten that the monarchy, seen from afar, is to the majority of the Scots a remote, south of England institution.
     
    If the end result of the devolution vote is that the Scottish Labour Party goes under, it will only add to a scenario of the dissolution of the existing political configurations.
     
    In the case of the somewhat goofy Ed Miliband, he will discover it really is true (as one commentator wrote recently) that his party now represents a section of society that no longer exists.
     
    In the case of the Conservatives, there will be losses to Ukip and who knows what fissures in the case of the Liberal Democrats. But do not worry. British history tells us that every so often there’s a meltdown to meet the needs of a new era – 2015 could be one of those moments. Roll on, I say.
     
    What all of this also reflects is the public’s total disillusionment with the political class. They are seen as a self-perpetuating oligarchy who make politics their career and who rarely have any experience of a workshop floor. They are now cast as a self-seeking, righteous clique whose last desire is to reform itself.
     
    The so-called reform of the House of Lords remains an unresolved constitutional mess. No one either has achieved the redrawing of the constituency boundaries, which is another scandal. And all of that we owe to political in-fighting with never a thought for the wider public, which ostensibly our MPs serve.
     
    And where, one may ask, are the giants of vision and oratory? Gone, gone, seemingly for ever. What we listen to most of the time are ventriloquists’ dummies articulating what the last focus group told them to say. We live in the golden age of box-ticking and don’t forget it. Whatever else is taught at Eton it cannot include the art of oratory.
     
    Just to add to the fun of the fair, there’s another anniversary in 2015 – the battle of Waterloo, the heroic moment when the Duke of Wellington led the pan-European forces not far from Brussels and in the aftermath of the Duchess of Richmond’s famous ball to a glorious victory over the army of Napoleon Bonaparte. Will we celebrate this? Or will we, as happened on the 300th anniversary of the Union of England and Scotland in 2007, sweep it under the carpet in the interests of togetherness and ever-closer union?
     
    On the horizon in 2017, if the Conservatives return to power, is a referendum as to whether we stay part of the European Union. What is striking, looking back to 1973 when we joined it, is that the longer we are part of the Union, the more unhappy and uneasy we seem to become.
     
    We were certainly part of the Roman Empire but not the Holy Roman Empire or the one of Napoleon. Indeed, the whole of our history has been in the opposite direction, with the defeat of the Spanish Armada, of the armies of both Louis XIV and the French Emperor, not to mention a German Emperor and Hitler.
     
    The polls show a nation divided as to whether to be in or out. Both legislation and decision-making in Brussels seem increasingly to impinge on what has set us apart. Globalisation also threatens the island in another way.
     
    Much that is brewing for the luckless voters next May to think about stems – I suspect – from facts that government knows about, but which we don’t. David Cameron’s sudden concern with immigration and a desire to reach some kind of curbing on the influx would suggest that the true figures of that influx are way in excess of what we are told.
     
    What it spells out to me is that the Government has done a forward projection in what that huge explosion in our population on a tiny island will mean in terms of social provision, education, welfare and benefits as the century progresses.
     
    They have to be added to the cost of providing for an ageing population. We are still up to our eyes in debt and it is taken for granted by all parties that whoever comes to power must cut yet again. None of that bodes well.
     
    There are other divisions which could also fester. It is clear to me that sorting out a resentful England may in the long run be more of a nightmare than sorting out Scotland. Living, as I do, in the shires, I am more than conscious that rural England counts for nothing in the eyes of the political class. 
     
    The Countryside Alliance’s march on London was the biggest demonstration that the city has ever seen since the Chartists in the Victorian period. And yet their demands were ignored. There has been a huge revival of local loyalties in the last couple of decades and a strong revulsion against the dominance of London the city state. 
     
    In the past, when both Lords and Commons was made up of people who came from and had been born and worked in the counties, there was constant interplay. The old hereditary Lords had their hands in the soil of their locality. All gone. When I go to London now I enter a different world aware, on any bus ride, that I am one of the few who speaks English.
     
    How ironic that 2015 also sees the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, the Great Charter of 1215 that limited the power of an autocratic and unpopular monarch, marked the beginning of the idea that the people should be consulted and, in the long term, led to parliamentary democracy. I’ve no doubt the anniversary will be marked by an outburst of self-congratulation by our MPs. They should be ones of mourning as to how far they’ve dragged the institution down into disrepute.
     
    Its most famous clause reads: ‘No freeman shall be arrested, or kept in prison… or banished, or in any way brought to ruin… unless by lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.’ Try telling that to British citizens held without trial as part of the so-called War on Terror.
     
    So 2015 is not going to be an easy year. There’s an absence of ‘bread and circuses’ to take the public’s minds and eyes away from what might be cruel realities. There’s no Royal jubilee, only a second child for the Duchess of Cambridge to cheer us on our way.
     
    Nor is there an equivalent of the Olympics with its apotheosis of our Health Service, which appears to be on its last legs. One bonus is that we are officially at peace after two disastrous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, neither of which we could afford. Long may that peace last.
     
    Looking back, we are right to feel aggrieved by the political class. They have, in fact, betrayed us. They have perpetually promised things that they could not deliver. When I think of them, a line from the old Book of Common Prayer confession comes to mind: ‘We have left undone those things which we ought to have done. And we have done those things which we ought not to have done and there is no health in us.’
     
    One of their worst crimes has been to spend money which we haven’t got in a perpetual quest to stay in office. I am of the generation that will not have to pay the price for that wanton prodigality. My heart goes out to the next two generations who will have to suffer and meet the bill. That, sadly, will be the story of Britain in the 21st Century.
     
    This disillusionment with politicians and the whole political system has already bred a desire to look elsewhere for leadership. Sooner or later there will be a vacuum to be filled. The figure that fills that space at the moment is the one unfaltering human being who alone has remained true to the oath she swore at her Coronation – the Queen.
     
    As she stands on the threshold of becoming the longest reigning monarch in a thousand years of British history, it is safe to say that she has steadfastly served her people with an old-fashioned sense of duty, service and patriotism which should remain a source of inspiration for each and every one of us – not least our discredited politicians. Long may she reign!

     

    Oh and by the way I hope everyone had a Happy Christmas, as it looks as if 2015 is not going to be a prosperous year for many of us.

    Hereford River Carnival

    Colin James
    By Colin James,

    Hereford River Carnival.jpg



    Have a Costa on me!

    greenknight
    By greenknight,

    Well this part of the election is almost done and its been great to see an increase in the activity on the site.

     

    I've set up a small tab at the Costa in town so please feel free to have a Coffee on me. Once the gift card is gone it's gone, so just drinks if you please. I'm hoping to get a similar tab set up for the old market Costa but just need to check with the manager Anthony first.

     

    Just state you are a Hereford Voice member and its compliments of GK.

    All the very best.

    Green Knight


    The Link Road to Nowhere

    SON OF GRIDKNOCKER
    By SON OF GRIDKNOCKER,

    With less than five weeks to polling day, there have been some remarkable changes across the city, doubtless to demonstrate what a fine administration is running this city and county - and deserves being returned on 7th May.

     

    Residents along Bodenham Road (now part of the hotly-contested Aylestone Hill Ward) awoke last week to discover that its entire length (and adjoining roads) had been yellow-lined, outlawing Tech College student parking.

     

    This week, a team of Balfour Beatty sign erectors put up a huge hoarding at the end of Commercial Road, announcing: 'Hereford City Link Road. Delivering jobs and housing.' What actual jobs the council will deliver with this pointless £25-million farce (apart from more jobs for the boys inside the cosy Plough Lane Lubyanka) is difficult to discern. But the housing claim is downright spurious. Of the 6000 units promised by porcine Jonathan Bretherton, precisely eight are now being completed in Conningsby Street.


    Herefordshire Council To Light Beacon On VE Day

    Colin James
    By Colin James,

    VE Day 1945.jpg

     

    The Herefordshire community is being invited to celebrate the 70thanniversary of VE Day on Friday 8 May.

     

    The chairman of Herefordshire Council is planning to light a beacon in memory of the end of the Second World War at the Shirehall in Hereford at 9.15pm on Friday 8 May.

     

    On VE Day 1945 millions of people across the UK shared an unprecedented moment of relief and euphoria that the war in Europe was finally over. Service men and women were coming home; families no longer needed to live in fear and young evacuees could return from the countryside where they had been sent for their protection.

     

    The Chairman of Herefordshire Council, Lady Darnley, High Sheriff and local Mayors will attend along with WW11 Veterans, members of the Royal British Legion and cadets. The event will consist of speeches, bugle call and culminate with the lighting of the beacon.

     

    The event is open to the public and we welcome you to come along and celebrate the anniversary of this very important day in our history. 


    Hereford - Late Food Application

    Colin James
    By Colin James,

    I will be interested to see the outcome of this application...

     

    buttery.jpg-pwrt2.jpg

    photo courtesy of the HT

     

    Taken from this article in the HT

    THE owner of a sandwich shop in Hereford city centre wants to stay open until 2.30am. Susan Barrow says keeping The Buttery trading until the early hours is the only way to ensure the business will survive.

     
    The 54-year-old says she has lost about £700 a week since nearby council offices, including Garrick House, closed.
     
    Initially she is asking Herefordshire Council’s Licensing department for permission to open the Maylord Street shop on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights but, if the move proves a hit, she hopes to extend it to late night Sundays and Bank Holidays too.
     
    “The reason I have applied is because without it I know I won’t make another winter,” said Mrs Barrow. “I’m finding there is too much food around the town. “Also, when I took over about two years ago, I also had the council offices nearby.
     
    “But they have now moved to Plough Lane. “We’ve had a rough time since. I don’t really want to do this but I have no choice.”
     
    She says her small team of staff “don’t mind” the proposals, saying they enjoy working at The Buttery, which has been trading for more than 20 years.
     
    The shop would sell a similar range of cold food to that on offer in the daytime, including sandwiches and baguettes.
     
    The application does not cover hot food which is subject to an early morning curfew in parts of the city centre.
     
    Mrs Barrow said licensed door staff will be provided at The Buttery.
     
    The evening opening hours, should they be approved, would be from 11.30pm to 2.30am from Thursday to Saturday.
     
    I wish her luck with her application as HV have been fighting to allow traders to be able to stay open longer, offering 'hot food' during the early hours in this popular topic but this is a separate application as no hot food is being offered, nevertheless, it will be interesting to see the outcome.

    Herefordshire Local Election Poll

    Colin James
    By Colin James,

    poll-box.png


     


    Who Will You Be Voting For?



    Newton Farm Ward and your choice of Independent candidates.

    bobby47
    By bobby47,

    If you live within the Newton Farm Ward and you want to vote Independent, your choice is the mighty Glenda Vaughan Powell or the less than insignificant Phillip Edwards.

    Having met our Glenda and sat behind Phil at the infamous Kindle Centre meeting where one Amanda Martin emerged and verbally slaughtered Johnson and Morgan, I know which one I'd vote for.

    It'd be that formidable woman Glenda Vaughan Powell. Yes, I'd vote for our Glenda. If any Councillor deserves loyalty and reward for all the horrid things that can tip your life upside down its Glenda.

    Despite her recent health problems and despite being reported to the Council Standards Committee because some of her colleagues became jealous of her success, this battle and brawler has emerged from the bad times and is still fighting and doing her very best for her constituents.

    Then you've got Phil a man who once said to his drinking buddy whilst I was hid beneath their table eavesdropping in on their private conversation I had no business listening in on, 'I bloody hate my constituents' and a man who's income is supplemented playing Widow Twanky thrice weekly at the Birmingham Hippodrome.

    I know which one I'd vote for. Glenda Vaughan Powell, and anyone who thinks differently disagrees with me and places far to much emphasis on Phils ability to apply foundation cream and red blusher to his face whilst trying to convince five hundred schoolchildren that he's a girlie and worth another run starring in Aladdin!


    Decision notice. The Bullying of Disabled Council Staff

    WirralPC
    By WirralPC,

    Hello All,

     

    I'm Paul Cardin from Wirral.  Here's a decision notice from the ICO referring to bullying of disabled people and pay offs in public money to Herefordshire County Council staff.  I believe a number of senior people have been encouraged to depart the council.

     

    The ICO for their part are standing behind the council, and appear to be insisting that the disabled persons affected have been consulted, and don't want their data released or their personal privacy breached.  Is this true?  Some local people out there might know different.

     

    This DN can be challenged and I believe the deadline is 10th September, if my maths is correct.

     

    If it's going to be challenged, it needs to be QUICK !  My contact details should be relatively easy to track down with a search engine.

     

    post-109-0-29989600-1409305143_thumb.jpg


    Statement from Wirral Council Press Office

    WirralPC
    By WirralPC,

    This council has made great strides since Bill Norman left...

     

    http://captiongenerator.com/37460/Paul


    Overgrown verge main contributing factor to tragic death

    Jimbo
    By Jimbo,

    Everybody remembers the awful grass cutting fiasco last year and at the time lots of people said that this will result in accidents in the countryside, well unfortunately it did.

     

    This is an extract from the Hereford Times

     

    AN overgrown grass verge reaching more than six-feet high was "a main contributing factor" in the death of a Herefordshire woman killed while walking her dog, an inquest heard.

     

    Former teacher Josephine Wilson, 66, died at Hereford County Hospital after being in collision with a Honda Civic as she crossed a road in Dormington, just yards from her home.

     

    The hearing at Hereford Town Hall this morning heard from a collision investigator who called the roadside area "dangerous".

     

    He said it was likely Mrs Wilson, who had approached the road from a footpath, was obscured from the sight of the driver because of the state of the verge.

     

    I'm not going to say we told you so as someone has tragically died, but this can never be allowed to happen again, regardless who has control of the council.

     

    Some of the Junctions in the countryside are already dangerous enough without making the visibility worse, this is a problem that perhaps some of you city dwellers don't think about or perhaps the council didn't think about when the cutbacks were made, either way someone has paid the ultimate price because of 'cost cutting' let's make sure there is no more.


    Singing Like a Canary

    Maverick
    By Maverick,

     

    In February 2014 a Unison Rep approaches Senior Managers with a number of long standing unaddressed issues from members which included health and safety and training for disabled staff.

     

    The Rep is employed by Herefordshire Council

     

    In response the Rep also disabled is asked to attend an Occupational Health (OH) referral to ascertain if the Rep is 'Capable of fulfilling the requirements of their role'.

     

    If there were capability issues regarding the TU Rep why weren't they being performance managed? Why is Senior Managers response to a complaint about Health and Safety and Training to send the Rep to OH, asking if they are capable of fulfilling the requirements of their role?

     

    The Rep refuses and lodges a grievance against the Senior Manager for victimisation, which is sent to the Director Geoff Hughes. Geoff Hughes hands the Grievance to the Senior Manager who is the subject of the complaint.

     

    When a Grievance is lodged against a Senior Manager why is the Senior Manager handed the Grievance in its entirety? Do employees who are not Senior Managers and subject of a grievance receive a full copy of a written Grievance against them?

     

    The Unison Branch Secretary refuses to represent the TU rep in the Grievance because Geoff Hughes and the Senior Manager are both in the Union.

     

    According to the Unison Representation Guide Book. In a grievance hearing, a member who is a manager whose decision gave rise to the grievance, cannot expect representation when they simply carry out their functions as a Manager. So why does the Branch Secretary refuse a request to represent his TU Rep?

     

    Unison ask the Rep to attend a meeting with the Branch Secretary and Unisons Area manager.

     

    Why is Unisons area Organiser called into this dispute? Why is the Grievance not handled locally and what's the real reason for the Branch Secretary's refusal to assist a TU Rep?

     

    The Branch Secretary makes his excuses and leaves the meeting.

     

    Was the Branch Secretary distancing himself from what the Rep was about to be told because he is an employee of the Council? He was the one told about the threat. Would a threat still have been issued if Geoff Hughes hadn't handed the Grievance to the Senior Manager but instead followed the correct procedure? Did the Senior Manager after being handed the Grievance issue a threat to Unison?

     

    The Area Manager informs the TU Rep that in response to the Grievance, the Branch Secretary has been told that if the Unison Rep doesn't drop the Grievance against the Senior Manager they will look for all the information they can find to threaten their employment and even if there is nothing to find they will make it up!

     

    How would Herefordshire Council find evidence about an employee to threaten their employment? Start searching through their emails, as a TU Rep the systems would contain emails from Union members. Would they invoke Ripa and start following the Rep and record their movements? If there's nothing to find what sort of fabricated evidence would they create? How far would they go? It would need to be gross misconduct to threaten employment. Would Herefordshire Council really fabricate gross misconduct charges?

     

    The TU Rep agrees under protest but only when told that Unison will insist that any threat against its TU Rep is withdrawn stating Unison will not tolerate a TU Rep being threatened.

     

    Why does a Unison Area Organiser persuade a member of staff who is a TU Rep to drop a legitimate complaint against a Senior Manager? If a threat of this nature is made against a TU Rep and Unison back down are they really serving the best interests of their members and would a threat of this nature be a threat against the Union as a whole?

     

    A meeting is held with a Senior Manager from the Council but there is no mention of the threat which surprises the TU Rep. During the meeting, Unisons Area Manager advises Herefordshire Council that 'Unison' will be lodging an ET1 with Acas to safeguard the TU Reps position in case the issues remain unresolved.

     

    Why is there no request to withdraw the threat against the TU Rep? Why did the Area Organiser inform the Senior Manager at that meeting that Unison would be lodging the complaint with Acas?

     

    The TU rep lodges the Complaint with Acas. The actions discussed at the meeting are confirmed via email.

     

    Why did the Area Organiser not question the list of Actions from the meeting when he received them? They clearly state 'Unison' will be lodging a complaint through Acas. Was it all part of some elaborate plan?

     

    UNISON then distance themselves from the complaint and deny any knowledge of the threat against the rep. They ignore requests, to participate in a tribunal.

     

    Why did Unison inform Senior Managers they would be lodging a complaint with Acas for the Victimisation of a TU Rep and then deny knowledge of the threat? Did Senior Managers make the threat or not?

     

    A complaint is lodged with Unison and copied to Dave Prentice and Lucia McKeever. Unison attack the Rep and find no case to answer. Unison do not ask the TU rep for any information or speak with them prior to finding no case to answer.

     

    Why do Dave Prentice and Lucia McKeever appear to be sanctioning this appalling behaviour by their inaction? Why did investigating officers fail to speak to the Rep before completing the investigation?

     

    The TU Rep informs Unison the meeting was taped and asks why the investigation was completed without asking for any evidence or asking any questions. The email responses from the investigating officers are aggressive and accusatory.

     

    Why did investigating officers not speak to the TU Rep prior to making a decision on the complaint? More importantly why were they attacking the Rep in email correspondence?

     

    The TU rep then made a complaint to Members Services about the inappropriate way the complaint is investigated. Members Service refuse to investigate until they receive copies of the tapes.

     

    Why won't members services investigate why the original officers failed to conduct a comprehensive investigation? The complaint to members services is about a failure to investigate the original complaint, are copies of tapes necessary to ascertain why the investigation into the original complaint wasn't completed appropriately? Are they back tracking here and missing the point?

     

    Members services request copies of the tapes. The Rep explains they are part of Tribunal proceedings and can not be disclosed until after the hearing.

     

    The complaint to members service is about the conduct of the investigating officers why do they need evidence of the original complaint before they can ascertain if those officers acted inappropriately when investigating the original complaint?

     

    Members services refuse to investigate the two officers responsible for the haphazard investigation.

     

    Why are Members Services condoning the unprofessional behaviour of their officers?

     

    TU rep requests refund of Union fees because Unison not only failed to appropriately represent the member but they also perpetuated and frustrated the entire situation. Remunaration of the Tribunal Fee is also requested since it was Unison who stated they would be lodging the complaint.

     

    If the TU Rep was refused appropriate representation for which their monthly subscription should cover why are Unison ignoring requests to return those monthly fees and the cost for lodging the ET1?

     

    Request ignored.

     

    Why are Unison behaving as if they are paid by the employer?

     

    Case closed!

     

    Should Herefordshire Council investigate the behaviour of its officers and find out if one or more of its officers was threatening an employee to abandon their employment rights? Is the behaviour of Council Senior Officers of Public interest? The Public fund their wages, would they condone this type of behaviour from Senior Managers in positions of power? If their Officers are innocent wouldn't they want an investigation to show that?

     

    Finally what response or actions would the public expect from Herefordshire Councils Senior officers who knew about the threat? For example Bill Norman, Council Leader Anthony Johnson or the Chief Executive Alistair Neil?

     

    How difficult it is to speak with Jesse Norman your local MP?

     

    What part do Herefordshire Council play in this saga?


    its our county

    Jon stannard
    By Jon stannard,

    Here's the new livery going on my van Tuesday,

    Any candidates want me to fly the flag in thier ward, let me know.

    post-1165-0-17801800-1428689581_thumb.jpg


    Freedom church members running for councillors

    Jimbo
    By Jimbo,

    Should members of the freedom church be able to run for the position of ward councillor without telling everyone they are a member of this church?


    UKIP Nigel Ely gets a parking ticket

    Paul Jones
    By Paul Jones,

    I thought this was hilarious, UKIP candidate Nigel Ely given a parking ticket whilst canvassing in Hereford, this was yesterday apparently. Strangley the vehicle he uses for his campaign is a US military truck?  

     

    post-1038-0-28087100-1429463996_thumb.jpg

     

    photos from Your Herefordshire


    Hereford Locality Weekly Briefing W/E 24th April 2015

    Colin James
    By Colin James,

    HEREFORD LOCALITY WEEKLY BRIEFING WEEK ENDING 24th APRIL 2015

    Dear Councillors and Parish Clerks,

    I am pleased to report that the reactive team has completed the following works during the last week:

    • 128 square metres of carriageway patching
    • 7 square metres of footway patching
    • 21 gully’s cleaned
    • 2 gully repairs
    • 8 fly tips removed
    • 32 kerb defects fixed
    • 46 footway blocks/slabs re-set
    • 360 linear metres of ditching works carried out.

     

    Update from Shane - (City South Belmont, St Martins & Hinton, and Tupsley Wards; Rural Backbury and Hollington Wards)

    Amongst the above works the following was completed

    Hollington Ward

    ·         Pothole and carriageway patching repairs on C1266 near to Holme Lacy House

    ·         Pothole repair Witherstone Lane

    ·         Ditching works on C1266

    ·         Fly-tip collected form Chapel Road

     

    St Martins Ward

    ·         Pothole and carriageway deterioration patching works in Hinton Road

    ·         Pothole and gully repair in Holme Lacy Road

    ·         Fly-tip collected from Honddu Close

     

    Tupsley Ward

    ·         Pothole and carriageway deterioration patching works in Church Road

    ·         Litter bin repair in Whittern Way

    Some of the issues I have addressed this week 

    • Removal of overhanging, fallen tree along bridleway MF6
    • Monthly inspection of A roads
    • Monthly inspection of B roads
    • Minor footbridge repairs on PROW HB1
    • Raised works order for carriageway patching in Hunderton Road
    • Raised order for repairs to chicane in Waterfield Road following road traffic collision damage
    • Raised order for new traffic signs in Belmont Road following liaison with the Police
    • Raised order in respect of blocked gully on A4103 at Shucknall
    • Cut down tree branches overhanging footpath in Ledbury Road
    • Raised works order for pothole repair in Hinton Crescent
    • Raised works order in respect of kerb defect in Hinton Road
    • Approved dropped crossing application in Falstaff Road
    • Carried out litter pick around Northholme Community Centre
    • Various enquiries in respect of trees

     

    Update from Mike (City North Aylestone, Central, St Nicholas, and Three Elms Wards; Rural Credenhill and Hagley Wards)

    This week I have 

    ·         Completed the monthly A road inspection with Shane

    ·         Completed the monthly B road inspection with Shane

    ·         Completed the monthly walked City Centre inspection

    ·         Attended a multi agency meeting at the Town Hall

    ·         Approved a scaffolding license application in Green Street

    ·         Raised a number of c/way & f/way repairs in Folly lane

    ·         Raised a number of works orders for c/way repairs in Barton Road

    ·         Reported on 2 x possible unlicensed skips deposited on the public highway

    ·         Raised a works order for repairs to Mill Lane street name plate Credenhill

    ·         Raised a works order to replace a damaged pedestrian guardrail Station Road Credenhill

    ·         Raised a number of c/way pothole repairs to the C1099 junction with A 480 Credenhill

    ·         Raised c/way patch repairs to Sheridan Road

    ·         Raised works order for resurfacing works to Welford Green footway

    ·         Raised a Cat 1 defect to a dangerous brick wall in Ecroyd Park Credenhill

    ·         Made safe and raised a works order for repairs to a damaged drainage cover in Cranwell Drive Credenhill

    ·         Raised  works order for overgrown vegetation to be cut back Sherrington Drive jct with Yazor Road

     

    Phil Pankhurst has sent his briefing separately.

    Surplus de-icing product

    BBLP recently trialled a de-icing solution which has subsequently not been taken into routine use as it is not suitable for the type of highway use we require. It is however potentially suitable for use in a number of community type settings, perhaps in churchyards, entrances to residential care homes, and so on. The surplus is available free of charge to any Parish Council/Community Group that thinks they could use it. I’ve attached a data sheet but essentially the solution is most effective when sprayed on footpaths, yard areas or similar when icy conditions are forecast (to prevent ice forming) rather than after the event. The solution comes in 25 litre drums and as it needs to be sprayed any group taking up the offer would need a simple spray container/device. An opportunity maybe to get ahead of the game in preparation for next winter. If you are interested let Mike or I know.

     

    Herefordshire Council website is the one-stop-shop for up to date information

    Maps for pot holes are available on the Councils website

    https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/transport-and-highways/maintenance/potholes

    We hope the above is of interest.

    Kind regards

    Shane & Mike.

    Shane Hancock | Senior Locality Steward (Hereford City South)

    Balfour Beatty Living Places | Unit 3, Thorn Business Park | Rotherwas | Hereford | HR2 6JT


    Main Modifications to the Herefordshire Local Plan Core Strategy

    Colin James
    By Colin James,

    Dear sir/madam

    As you will be aware, Main Modifications to the Herefordshire Local Plan Core Strategy were published for consultation on 20 March 2015.

    The Herefordshire Local Plan Core Strategy: Main Modifications - Sustainability Appraisal and Habitats Regulations Assessment Addendum have now been published and can be viewed by visiting our website www.herefordshire.gov.uk/posthearing

    In order to allow interested parties to use the contents of the SA/HRA to inform their comments upon the proposed Main Modifications, consultation upon all the Main Modifications has been extended to 22 May 2015. This consultation process relates only to the proposed modifications to the Plan that have arisen as a result of the examination in general, and the hearings in particular.

    If you have any queries you can email ldf@herefordshire.gov.uk or call us on 01432 383357. 

    Yours sincerely,

    Community Involvement Officer (LDF)


    Gimme Some Truth!

    bobby47
    By bobby47,

    3:11

    JOHN LENNON - "GIMME SOME TRUTH" HD (video by Giacomo A ...

    youtube.com

     

    And this piece of work by Lennon sums up perfectly how most of us feel about these politicians.


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