This is the first of three new moss filters being installed in the Hereford.

Moss is one of nature’s best air filters. Moss has the natural ability to absorb and metabolise fine dust and particles, helping to naturally clean the air we breathe. Moss also stores and evaporates large amounts of moisture which cools the air.

Also known as ‘city trees’ the moss filters each take up about the same amount of space as one tree, however due to the enormous surface area of moss the moss filter is more efficient at filtering and cooling the air around it.

The innovative moss filters have been funded jointly by the council and Marches LEP as part of the ongoing £6m Hereford City Centre Improvement project, which is enhancing the City Centre environment thanks to investment to encourage people to spend more time in the City when they visit, helping to boost the local economy.

Moss mats clean about 80% of fine dust and particles from the air, and using ventilation technology filters breathing air for up to 7,000 people per hour.

The moss filters will be located in busy traffic areas in the City where they will use specially selected mosses to help naturally absorb pollution from the air. The first is being installed at Eign Gate.

The moss filters contain integrated smart sensors which provide performance and condition information, so the impact on the local air quality will be available for all to see on the council’s website.

Cllr John Harrington, Cabinet member infrastructure and transport, said:

“I am really pleased that we are bringing moss filters to Hereford. This innovative technology provides us with another small but significant step towards cleaner area in the City, which is important for everyone.”

“We are working hard in a number of ways to reduce emissions from vehicles in our beautiful, historic City with the aim of cleaner, healthier air for visitors but that takes time. Nature is lending us a helping hand towards this in the meantime. In London in Waltham Forest and in the City of Cork in Ireland, these moss towers have already been working hard filtering the low hanging pollution we have to deal with every day.

“Moss works differently to trees. Like trees, moss is great at converting carbon dioxide into oxygen, however moss also actually absorbs pollution particles from the air – metabolising and converting them into natural and harmless biomass. The particles it cannot use are bound in the sediment of the moss. And with their excellent moisture storing ability, the moss filters also work more efficiently to cool the air around them.

“I understand one moss filter captures carbon dioxide equivalent to 28 beech trees and cools the air around it like three mature winter lime trees. While trees are also playing an important role in our efforts to improve air quality across the City, the moss filters provide a boost in busy traffic areas where there is higher pollution but little space.”

The first moss filters are being installed in the same week as Clean Air Day, the UK’s largest air pollution campaign, which this year is on Thursday 16 June.

Air pollution causes heart and lung disease and results in over 36,000 people in the UK dying each year. Clean air is essential for our health, and clean air measures are good for our wellbeing as well as being good for the planet.

For more about Clean Air Day, see www.actionforcleanair.org.uk

I met up with Keith Marston yesterday morning to discuss how we can move forward with our Duck Pond Project.

We have agreed our next clean up day will be on Sunday 24th October from 0900-1400.

I think we need to have a good general clean up, remove any litter and objects from within the Pond, where it's safe to do so.

There is plenty of weeding and the clearance of overgrowth from the immediate area around the main part of the Pond and surrounding gardens as well as the other end near to the Fosse.

As a group we can check the fencing and decide an action plan for a bigger event in the Spring of 2022, but at least we can get things moving in October.

We have already secured funds for aeration pumps and we will also look at purchasing these with a view to having them installed hopefully in the Spring or sometime next year.

A full nature plan is what is required with tree surveys etc so we are looking forward to discussing all of these ideas with Herefordshire Council and Hereford City Council.

There are some local groups who are also keen to get involved such as our Friends of the Castle Green.

I have left a message for George Watkins at the Castle Hotel and I have had a good long chat on the phone tonight with Jim Kenyon to see how we move this forward. Jim has some really good ideas, which we welcome.

So please let us know if you can Join us again folks? We need your help! You all did amazing work with us on this project and we would love to see you all again this time.

Make a note in your diaries!

SUNDAY 24th OCTOBER 2021 - 0900-1400

What's On | 🏴‍☠️ Pirate Themed Wye Float 🏴‍☠️

15% OFF for our Hereford Voice followers

We have teamed up with our lovely friends at Wye Float for another fabulous event this year - 13th August 2022 10:00 till late.

Music

Inflatable River Floats

Live Bands

Pirates

Camping

Families Welcome

Fancy Dress

Food, Drink and much much more..

Tickets www.wyefloat.com

15% OFF using code: Hereford Voice

Tenants will soon have a legal right to keep pets in rented homes, forcing landlords to house four-legged companions in their rental properties.

The new rules included in the 'Renters Reform Bill' white paper published this week, will also abolish so-called “no fault” Section 21 evictions.

Details from the 'Department of Levelling up Housing and Communities' 👇

Fairer private rented sector white paper to ensure improvements to the rights and conditions for millions of renters.

New blueprint for renters reform will end the injustice of unfit homes and help protect renters from rising cost of living

• We will ban section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions and extend the Decent Homes Standard to the sector
• We will end arbitrary rent review clauses, give tenants stronger powers to challenge poor practice, unjustified rent increases and enable them to be repaid rent for non-decent homes
• It will be illegal for landlords or agents to have blanket bans on renting to families with children or those in receipt of benefits
• We will make it easier for tenants to share their homes with much-loved pets

The fairer private rented sector white paper published today (16 June 2022) will ensure millions of families benefit from living in decent, well looked-after homes as part of the biggest shake up of the private rented sector in 30 years.

The white paper marks a generational shift that will redress the balance between landlords and 4.4 million private rented tenants. It provides new support for cost of living pressures with protections for the most vulnerable, and new measures to tackle arbitrary and unfair rent increases. This is part of a wider reform agenda to improve lives and level up the country, delivering more housing and greater protections for tenants and homeowners.

The majority of tenants enjoy safe and secure rentals, but for the 21% of private renter and households who currently live in unfit homes, this ‘New Deal’ will extend the Decent Homes Standard to the private sector for the first time, levelling up opportunities. This means homes must be free from serious health and safety hazards, and landlords must keep homes in a good state of repair so renters have clean, appropriate and useable facilities.

So-called ‘no fault’ section 21 evictions – that allow landlords to terminate tenancies without giving any reason – will be outlawed. More than a fifth of private renters who moved in 2019 and 2020 did not end their tenancy by choice, including 8% who were asked to leave by their landlord.

Measures published today also include:

• Helping the most vulnerable by outlawing blanket bans on renting to families with children or those in receipt of benefits
• For the first time, ending the use of arbitrary rent review clauses, restricting tribunals from hiking up rent and enabling tenants to be repaid rent for non-decent homes. This will make sure tenants can take their landlord to court to seek repayment of rent if their homes are of unacceptable standard
• Making it easier for tenants to have much-loved pets in their homes by giving all tenants the right to request a pet in their house, which the landlord must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse
• All tenants to be moved onto a single system of periodic tenancies, meaning they can leave poor quality housing without remaining liable for the rent or move more easily when their circumstances change. A tenancy will only end if a tenant ends or a landlord has a valid reason, defined in law
• Doubling notice periods for rent increases and giving tenants stronger powers to challenge them if they are unjustified
• Giving councils stronger powers to tackle the worst offenders, backed by enforcement pilots, and increasing fines for serious offences

In addition, the estimated 2.3 million private landlords will have greater clarity and support through the following measures:

• A new 'Private Renters’ Ombudsman will be created to enable disputes between private renters and landlords to be settled quickly, at low cost, and without going to court
• Ensuring responsible landlords can gain possession of their properties efficiently from anti-social tenants and can sell their properties when they need to
• Introducing a new property portal that will provide a single front door to help landlords to understand, and comply with, their responsibilities as well as giving councils and tenants the information they need to tackle rogue operators

These reforms will help to ease the cost of living pressures renters are facing, saving families from unnecessarily moving from one privately rented home to another hundreds of pounds in moving costs.

We have already taken significant action over the past decade to improve private renting, including reducing the proportion of non-decent private rented homes from 37% to 21%, capping tenancy deposits and banning tenancy fees for tenancy agreements signed after 1 June 2019, and introducing pandemic emergency measures to ban bailiff evictions.

Today’s measures will form part of the Renters Reform Bill as announced in the Queen’s Speech, to be introduced in this parliamentary session. This will deliver on our commitment to give renters a better deal and make the private rented sector fit for the 21st century with safer, more secure and higher quality homes.

Levelling Up and Housing Secretary Michael Gove said:

For too long many private renters have been at the mercy of unscrupulous landlords who fail to repair homes and let families live in damp, unsafe and cold properties, with the threat of unfair ‘no fault’ evictions orders hanging over them.

Our New Deal for renters will help to end this injustice by improving the rights and conditions for millions of renters as we level up across the country and deliver on the people’s priorities.

While the majority of private rented homes are of good quality, offering safe, comfortable accommodation for families, the conditions of more than half a million properties – or 12% of households – pose an imminent risk to tenants’ health and safety, meaning around 1.6 million people are living in dangerously low-quality homes, driving up costs for our health service. 

The sector offers the most expensive, least secure, and lowest quality housing to millions of renters, including 1.3 million households with children and 382,000 households over 65. Rents are also rising at their fastest level for 5 years. This can damage life chances and hold back some of the most deprived parts of the country.

Today’s move marks the latest phase in delivering on the government’s levelling up missions, taking serious steps to halve the number of poor-quality rented homes, across both private and social tenures, by 2030.

Last week the government introduced the Social Housing Regulation Bill which means failing social housing landlords could face unlimited fines and Ofsted-style inspections.

In a major reset of power between tenants and landlords, residents will be able to demand information and rate their landlord as part of new satisfaction measures. Taken together with today’s renters reform white paper, the Bill will form a key part of the government’s mission to level up across the country and deliver on the people’s priorities.

Kevin Hill of Tarbock Road, Speke, Liverpool has been jailed for supplying cocaine and possessing offensive weapons.

The 48-year-old from Liverpool was sentenced yesterday (Monday 13 June) at Worcester Crown Court.

He was sentenced to nine years in prison.

An investigation by West Mercia Police with support from Merseyside Police found that between May 2021 and February 2022 Hill led a Liverpool based group responsible for the distribution of wholesale amounts of cocaine into Herefordshire.

Kevin Hill took over this enterprise from his twin brother, Keith Hill of Ridgemoor Road, Leominster, who is himself serving a nine year jail sentence after being sentenced at Worcester Crown Court in August 2021. Both individuals were at the pinnacle of this offending organisation.

It is conservatively estimated that he distributed in excess of a kilo of cocaine, however in reality the figures involved are likely to be more significant.

The police operation gathered significant mobile phone evidence which implicated Hill on a large scale.

He pleaded guilty and received a reduced sentence.

Initially Hill had said that he was a dog breeder and received payments marked up for the sale of XL Bully dogs, this was easily disproven.

Evidence was gathered that demonstrated Hill had a number of contacts in and around Herefordshire, who were themselves dealers in their own right, this included 23 year old Callum Smith of Princess Avenue, Hereford who was sentenced to six years seven months and 32 year old Nathaniel Singleton of Mortimer Street, Leominster, who was sentenced to 33 months.

On 13 October 2021 Nathaniel Singleton was arrested and found in possession of £24,000 of cocaine. On 19 January 2022 Callum Smith was arrested and found in possession of several hundred pounds worth of cocaine. These drugs were supplied by Kevin Hill.

Detective Sergeant Jamie Bullock said: “People involved in this line of work should be mindful that at no point did we seize drugs or money from Kevin Hill. Those in a similar position should use this sentence as a warning that they could be next.

“Anyone with any concerns about potential drug crime is urged to get in touch. We act on all reports we receive.”

You can call 101 or visit https://www.westmercia.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/

At approximately 3pm on Friday the 10th of June Hereford Cathedral had a window smashed.

This is the second incident that's happened in 10 days. If anyone has witnessed anything regarding this or if you have any information please contact the Police on 101 quoting this reference-22/57628/22.

Any information will be greatly appreciated. 40508

Are you struggling? Or do you know someone else who is?

Hereford Men’s Mental Health group is a friendly, informal safe space to meet for a chat and a cuppa. Why not join us - there's no pressure, no judgement, no assessments. It's peer support, run by people who have experienced mental ill health themselves. Check out the flyer or visit www.s4il.co.uk/HMMH for details

441161572_Flyer-HerefordMensMentalHealthGroup.pdf

The first piece of artwork is already displayed at the Railway Station end of Hereford College of Arts and NMiTE’s new student accommodation but will be officially launched on 15 June.

From June 2022 to April 2023 German artist Lothar Götz will transform the area around No. 1 Station Approach next to Hereford Railway Station. Götz will make two monumental and vibrant geometric artworks that will be displayed on each end of Hereford College of Arts (HCA) and NMiTE’s new student accommodation. A number of dazzling flags designed by the artist will also be sited by No. 1 Station Approach. The artworks will mark the start of a new cultural gateway to Hereford, welcoming visitors and enriching residents’ experience of the city.

UK-based Götz’s intervention will be the first of four new bold commissions of public artwork at the site over four years. The No. 1 Station Approach installation is one of fourteen projects in Hereford that have been made possible thanks to a successful £22.4million funding bid to the Stronger Towns Fund.

Abigail Appleton Principal of Hereford College of Arts and #StrongerHereford Chair said:

“Public art is a wonderful way to signal and celebrate the present and future creativity of our city. I am thrilled that we are kicking off the delivery of Hereford’s visionary Town Investment Plan with a work of such boldness and vibrancy.”

#StrongerHereford Board member Lauren Rogers said:

“I believe having such eye-catching public art in prominent place – a gateway into city – is inspirational, hopefully sparking creativity and more contemporary public art. Art helps us reflect on who we are and who we want to be. I am incredibly proud that Hereford towns Fund bid has been able to support this work.”

An associated engagement programme will reach out to residents, visitors, students, artists as well as the wider community to stimulate debate and showcase Hereford as a cultural destination.

Anne de Charmant, Artistic Director of Meadow Arts said:

“Having Lothar Götz’s intervention to launch the Cultural Gateway commissions is a great honour and a wonderful opportunity for Hereford.”

Götz’s work, typically large-scale paintings, drawings and installations that respond to existing structures have included commissions for South Bank Centre, London (2014); Leeds Art Gallery (2017) and most recently the Towner Art Gallery in Eastbourne (2019) to much acclaim. He is a master in the use of colours, and it is appropriate that his work, which celebrates the great Modernist tradition of the Bauhaus, the influential 1920-30s German art school, should be displayed on a building that hosts art students.

The artworks will be officially launched on Wednesday 15 June including a talk with the artist at Hereford College of Arts’ College Road Campus. Free tickets can be booked via the Meadow Arts website.

Beryl has welcomed the latest announcement from the Government on the future of e-scooter legislation – which could see e-scooters become legal on the UK’s roads.

The Government said that the Transport Bill, which was announced during the Queen’s Speech, will help them take the steps they need to make e-scooters safer and they will now consider how best to design future regulations.

While riding a privately owned e-scooter on public land is currently illegal, there are a number of Department for Transport-sponsored trials including the Beryl trials in some cities in the UK.

These were sanctioned to help the DfT to better understand the benefits of properly regulated, safety-tested e-scooters and their impact on public space.

Currently, e-scooters sold for private use are unregulated and can only be used legally on private land with the landowner’s permission.

Have you ever used E-Scooters?

Huge congratulations to The Royal National College for the Blind (RNC) football team on winning the FA Disability Cup final today on penalties but also commiserations Brighton for playing such a great game.

Fabulous televised coverage from BT Sport, thank you for broadcasting these wonderful matches.

Congratulations RNC!

♻️ Below shows us what we can and cannot recycle ♻️

https://www.herefordtimes.com/news/20198864.drivers-targeted-raise-money-local-services/
 

now I don’t have a problem with people who contravene the Highway Code being fined but where I do have a problem is bring in unnecessary parking charges to raise revenue it’s tantamount to racketeering in my opinion 

Councilor Harrington 

“A further £100,000 will go on plans to extend Hereford’s on-street pay-and-display parking areas, both in the areas covered and the rates charged.

This will be used to develop a business case, draft the legal measures, and potentially install new ticket machines. The council expects the plan to yield £41,000 over two years.

But the council insists the parking measures will be to “manage demand”, with income from the scheme “a consequence and not the purpose”.

Coun Harrington said extending parking zones “will prevent residential streets from being clogged with commuter parking”.

sorry John that’s absolutely boloney & you know it it’s a scam….so tell me when did Herefordshire council becoming a mafia organisation?

So my opinion is I totally disagree with this & find it disappointing that you are even considering milking the almost empty udders of the cash cow paying Herefordshire taxpayers once again

maybe if you didn’t go wasting our money in the first place you’d have no need to treat us with utter contempt by rinsing us the populace of this fair county out of or own hard earned earnings time & time again to waste time & time again!

The restaurant temporarily closed for the scheduled work to take place at the end of May and reopened their doors earlier today.

There is a new car park layout with repainted lines, separate entrance for delivery drivers from Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo etc..

New touch screens and collection point, with fresh contemporary but subtle decor in the restaurant with new tables and chairs.

Hereford Times 4th June 2022

Sign of the Times?

Not a suitable site for advertising at a busy road junction. People trying to get into the right lane, reading directional signs, changing traffic lights all addto the confusion. Plus those motorists trying to read their smart phones. All in all a complete no no.

Two previous applications were quite rightly refused at 

Land adjacent 22 Belmont Road Hereford HR2 7JW

and

69-71 Edgar Street Hereford Herefordshire HR4 9JP

Congratulations to our 640th Mayor of Hereford, Cllr Mark Dykes!

Taking over from the outgoing Mayor, Cllr Paul Stevens, Mark Dykes was yesterday (9th May) inaugurated into the historic role.

Read more HERE

Hereford's popular drive-thru restaurant on Belmont Road is currently closed for a substantial refurbishment, which is part of the companies 'Convenience of the Future' project which includes a huge £250M national programme spanning the next 4 years.

The last time that this restaurant in South Wye was refurbished was back in January 2018.

The drive-thru is scheduled to reopen in June once the work is complete.

Another example of overseas seasonal workers being exploited to pick fruit and vegetables - not by the farms, but recruitment companies.
 

The Guardian 27th May 2022

Migrant fruit pickers charged thousands in illegal fees to work on UK farms, investigation shows
Evidence appears to show illicit payments taken from workers harvesting produce for M&S, Tesco and Waitrose

(extracts)

Ditya, a single mother from Nepal, is used to travelling abroad for work. For years she has made a living as a migrant farm worker, where she can earn several times what she would in her home country. Last year she applied to become part of the UK government’s seasonal worker visa scheme, picking fruit and vegetables on a farm in Herefordshire that supplies fresh produce to Marks & Spencer (M&S), Tesco and Waitrose.

Ditya got the job, but it came at a huge cost. In order to secure it, she says she had to pay more than £3,000 – almost a third of what she earned during the six-month post – to recruitment agents.

Some of that money covered the cost of her flight and visa application. The rest appears to include illegal fees that labour rights experts describe as “exploitative and extortionate”.

A joint investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) and the Guardian can reveal that as many as 150 Nepali workers who came to work at Cobrey Farms in Herefordshire as part of the government scheme may have paid similar amounts, many of them claiming they paid agents working for a UK-licensed recruitment company.

The UK government launched the seasonal workers pilot scheme in 2019 to address concerns that the withdrawal from the EU would cause a shortage of labour for harvesting jobs on farms. Its rules state that workers should only pay a visa application fee of £259 (£244 until April this year) and travel costs. Any additional recruitment fees are illegal under UK law and can result in a labour provider being stripped of its licence.

Changing South Wye, Changing the World!

At this time of political and economic turmoil, our communities are facing challenges which will affect so many of us.

In 1844 the Rochdale Pioneers used their earnings to found their community co-operative.  This was to provide what was required by the people.

A democratic process had begun and life improved over time for many.  At the heart of this was communities.  They worked hard for one another, with each other and the times, not unlike today, were challenging.  To tackle today’s problems, we will require that same level of commitment from communities.

Fresh Start, in partnership with the Robert Owen Society, are realistic about what can be achieved and that the roots of our solutions are in identifying what the communities require.

We are creating models for problems and identifying strategies.  We are moving quickly now behind the scenes. This has been hard work but Fresh Start is confident that by bringing communities together, we can create with the people, a way forward.

Our interviews with those who could help us begin this Thursday 26th May 2022. If you feel that your skill or knowledge could contribute to helping South Wye in any way, then we would like to hear from you. 

Please contact us at freshstart@robertowen.org

_____________________________________________________________

Seems like a good idea and would work well together with the The Southside Project a groundbreaking initiative which will transform 35 acres of green space south of the river in Hereford. It will open up a wide range of opportunities for local residents of all ages and will be a space where the community can connect.