Wagamama - Japanese Restaurant & Noodle Bar also joining the Old Market.

Jobs advertised HERE

I've been reading the debate in various places about the council's `Adult Wellbeing` directorate using an agency to find a couple of people who will accept a mere £500 a day to help them change to meet new challenges   This is defended by the director (interim director since September?) Helen Coombes on the HCC website.  Bobby 47 and others have already slaughtered the idea on the HT website.

Leaving aside the need for savings etc; the question that slowly formed in the depths of my brain was:

"What the **** does the (Interim) director do for her money if she doesn't herself have the skills and ability to organise and deliver the changes needed?  She was appointed in September at a time when the need for change was obvious - so why did they not appoint someone who could do the job without needing an extra £1000 a day spending on others to tell her what to do?

I suspect that the biggest cars in the Brockington car park are owned by people who are highly promoted admistrators, not leaders, and the current challenges are way beyond their competence.

Another one I saw on the HCC vacancies was "Head of Learning and Achievement" for £64k plus extras.  (again, B47 was please to see that this would at least result in a passionate person in place).  This education job is to oversee a team (massively reduced over the last few years) and work with schools (massively reduced numbers due to academisation) - so as Cllr Johnson is always saying people have no suggestions, here are two:  Merge this job with the same person in another county -  both will have a lot less to do in their own counties:  or:  get an outside education consultancy in to do the job - there are lots of companies with the ability and capacity to do it.

Of course these options will be binned if there is someone already in the building who wants the job.

gdj

Here's something from today's Scrutiny meeting on the budget. The £20 million pounds of NEW funds that had been obtained for Balfour Beatty to up the ante on these roads and potholes is NOW coming from a mass sale of as many Council owned assets as possible in the short term. Out of £100 million which we (you, us!) own the Council will sell off £20 million a year, every year at least for the next three years.

At a meeting held by BB and with the Chief Financial of the Council for all our parishes to attend, we were distinctly told this was NEW money. Can I have support from those present at that meeting please, because they're denying saying it. Or did I mishear?

Dreadful news about CAB.

If you've ever run a business or a charity and been told for months you are losing your funding, so you waste time fighting, trying to keep morale up, and then the b***ers change their mind - you know they'll probably change it back again. Demoralising.

Well done CAB for struggling on.

Taken from Herefordshire Council newsdesk.

Work will commence to improve the junction of King street and Bridge street in Hereford.

The scheme is due to begin with preliminary works on site on Monday 27th January 2014, and is likely to last 6 to 7 weeks. The scheme is being completed with minimum disruption to traffic flows.

The narrowing and realignment of the King Street exit will slow and reposition emerging vehicles to provide a better view of approaching cyclists and vehicles. Colour surfacing and new street furniture will create more of a "shared space" feel which will help vehicle behaviour.

Reducing number of bollards and existing sign posts to improve overall view and visibility. Pedestrian crossing locations will be better defined and the overall layout will be more pedestrian friendly.

the funding scheme is a match funding between Herefordshire council and Department for Transport Cycle Safety Fund.

END.

Police at Hereford investigating a robbery of cash from a woman on Wednesday 15 January have issued an image of a man they want to talk to. 

The woman was robbed in an alleyway by the Wye Inn pub in Holme Lacey Road. Hereford at approximately 12.45pm.

A man approached the 20 year old woman and asked for a cigarette. As the victim got a cigarette for him he grabbed a freezer bag from her pocket which contained cash.

When the woman tried to grab the cash back the man struck her. He then ran off along the footpath into FC Morgan Close. 

The man police want to talk to in connection with the robbery is described as a white man, aged between 40 and 45 with a dark moustache.

Detective Sergeant Tim Powell of Hereford CID said. “Fortunately this woman had no serious injuries. We need to trace this man as soon as possible. There are a number of industrial units on the nearby retail park and this man could have come from there. If you have any information on the identity of this man or if you think you saw him please contact officers at Hereford by dialling 101. All calls will be treated in confidence”.

Callers who wish to remain anonymous can also ring independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Full Details Here

2 year old boy dies when his mother rushes him to North London A&E only to find that it's been closed down due to cuts.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2541890/Boy-2-dies-family-rushes-hospital-not-realising-A-E-unit-closed-NHS-reforms-causing-half-hour-delay-treatment.html

Just another day in council/government service closures.

Change A Little, Save A Lot Campaign  

This is rich coming from Herefordshire Council who are about to put a huge increase on our community charge!  

I wanted to post this to show that when something is genuinely improved it doesn't go unnoticed.

Whoever is responsible for painting up those blocks of flats on the A49 Ross Road (Redhill?), well done, they look really really good and are a massive and marked improvement.

Jim, was that you I heard on the radio earlier trying to push through ANOTHER additional tax on alcohol under the guise of a "Social Responsibility Tax"?

Either way, this is ludicrous. It's about time people took PERSONAL responsibility and stopped blaming everyone else and relying on everyone else to take responsibilty for them.

This will do NOTHING but penalise those who drink responsibility.

What you should be doing is heavily fining those who are drunk and disorderly IN CONJUNCTION with a breathalizer. I think this is very important otherwise it would give the police a free for all for subjective penalisation. Say drunk and disorderly with a breath sample over 60 to enable some degree of objectivity.

Again, a Social Responsibility Tax on alcohol is nothing short of fcuking idiotic. 

E-fit Released In Attempted Robbery Investigation - Hereford

Do you recognise this woman?

Police investigating an attempted robbery in Hereford have released an e-fit in a bid to identify a woman who tried to rob a mother as she pushed her child along in a pram.

Previous witness appeals have been issued about the incident, which happened on a footpath that runs between Abbotsmead Road and Northolme Road, at around 3.30pm on Wednesday, 20 November.

The victim was walking on the path and pushing the pram while talking on her mobile phone when she was approached from behind by the woman.

The woman tried to grab the phone from the victim’s hand before she shouted abuse at her and demanding money. The victim attempted to walk away from the woman, who tried to grab her handbag from the back of the pushchair while hitting out at her and scratching her face. The victim called for help at which point, the woman left the scene empty-handed. 

The same woman is though to have been involved in two other incidents that occurred on the same day:

• At around 2.35pm, a woman boarded a bus from Bewell Street to Belmont. She got off the bus at Northolme Road and followed a girl in her late teens a short distance before pushing her into the road.  The girl asked her why she had done this but she did not reply and left the area.

• At 3.10pm - shortly before the attempted robbery took place – a woman visited an address on Flaxley Drive. The householder opened the door and the woman began to shout abuse at her. The householder - who does not know the woman - told her to leave. Shortly afterwards, she was seen walking in front of traffic on Abbotsmead Road.

Detective Constable Charlie Wells is investigating the incident. She said: “I would like to thank all those who came forward with information when we first released appeals about this woman. We are very grateful to have received such a great response and we are asking the public to help us again.

“If anyone recognises the woman in the e-fit, please contact the police. She is described as white, between 5ft and 5ft 6ins tall, of a medium build and aged between 20 and 27. She had shoulder-length, curly hair with blonde highlights, blue eyes and a pointy nose.” 

Anyone with information is urged to contact DC Wells via the non-emergency police number 101 or information can be passed on anonymously through the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Please quote the reference number 428S 20/11/13. Alternatively, people can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

Full Details Here

Please find attached draft minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 12th December 2013 at Belmont Community Centre, Eastholme Avenue, Belmont Hereford

Minutes - 12.12.2013 (DRAFT).pdf

Please find attached BRPC minutes of the Meeting held on Thursday 31st October 2013 at Northolme Community Centre, Northolme Road, Belmont Hereford

Minutes - 31.10.2013.pdf

Please find attached BRPC minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 19th September 2013 At Northolme Community Centre, Northolme Road, Belmont Hereford

Minutes - 19.09.2013.pdf

Minutes - 08.08.2013.pdf

There are police on the bridge tonight as apparently two people have fallen into the river near to Asda. I will update when I have more information.

I was reading through this article and wondered if this ever got completed because I do not remember seeing a canal in Hereford, can anyone throw any light on this for me please?

The academic arguments for urban trees are now well accepted but Hereford lags well behind other cities in this respect - High Town and Commercial Street each have only ONE tree!
Ironically, when the OLM development opens it will feature dozens of trees.
The OLM was sold to the Hereford public by promises of connectivity with the historic centre (and a cinema!) So, before Stanhope/McAlpine disappear, now is the time to insist the OLM planting scheme is extended beyond the new retail development and that a recognisable connection is created with the wider city. Anybody interested?