‘Hereford City Life’ backed by Hereford BID are launching the ‘Hereford Gift Card’!

They are launching a brand new gift card to help encourage customers to spend their money with local Hereford businesses.

The Hereford Gift Card is a pre-paid ‘Master Card’ based programme, that can be accepted by independents and nationals within Hereford city centre.

Consumers

The new Hereford Gift Card can be purchased as a gift for a family member or friend or even to give to someone to say thank you. The gift card is just like any other gift card that you see on the high street and you will be able to use it to spend in many of the local shops, cafés, restaurants and bars and all participating businesses in Hereford City Centre including Marks and Spencers, Primark, New Look, Timothy Hawkins Gallery, Saxtys, Pleasance and Harper, Toni and Guy, Fox and Mabel...to name but a few however, a full list of those participating businesses will be provided once the gift card is launched in the next few months, just in time for Christmas!!

Businesses

This scheme is another great way to encourage visitors to shop and spend with your business and can benefit many sectors, including retail, hospitality, leisure and service. 

How do I register?

To register your business as an approved Hereford Gift Card location, please visit the registration page here https://hfd.news/kwj and follow the steps outlined.

Costs

Being an approved location for the Hereford Gift Card will cost you nothing other than the levy you already pay to us. Every penny the customer spends on the card will be loaded on the card too - there are no hidden fees!

What if I have more questions?

If you have more queries about the Hereford Gift Card and registering your businesses, you can find FAQs on the Hereford BID website using our link - https://hfd.news/2so or alternatively, please feel free to contact Hereford BID by email info@herefordbid.co.uk 

On our recent visit to the Town Hall our friend John Marshall explained the history of the Coat of Arms and we are so pleased that he has put all of the incredible history into writing for your reading pleasure!

It's been 376 since Hereford was under siege from the Scottish!

The infamous battle resulted in the creation of Hereford's Coat of Arms, and the two stories are closely intertwined.

In 1189, King Richard I gave the City its first royal charter, and with it came Hereford's first Coat of Arms, but the remainder of the design dates much later, to 1645, at which time the realm was in a state of Civil War.

The City of Hereford stood for the King, and was stationed with Royalist troops. The garrison for the City, however, was very small, no more than 150-200 men at most. Then, a large Scottish force of 14,000 men marched to attack Hereford - mercenary troops fighting for Cromwell. They surrounded the City with the intention of capturing it, confidant that they could defeat the vastly outnumbered Royalists.

However... the citizens of Hereford joined with the soldiers in the garrison, enacting the duties of fighting men so well that they kept the invading Scottish troops at bay for approximately five weeks. The enemy was unable to make a single penetration of the City's defences during this time, their only achievement being the destruction of one span of the old bridge over the Wye and dislodging a few stones from the City walls.

In the end, the Scots gave up trying to capture the City and retreated, leaving the Royal Standard flying in triumph over the City. King Charles I, upon hearing of this, was delighted and full of praise for the citizens of Hereford. So much so, that he visited the City in order to thank them personally for their success, and made the Grant of Arms which the City now possesses.

The shield on the coat was given ten crosses in white and blue, representing the surrounding forces of the Scottish troops. The motto for the City, which is also on the Coat, was granted; INVICTAE FIDELITATIS PRAEMIUM - which means; "Reward for faithfulness unconquered". A lion crest can now be seen on the top of the Coat, signifying loyalty and defence of the Crown. The helmet below the lion is also very rare, and is only found on the Coat of one other authority in England - the City of London.

Full story of the Coat of Arms HERE

In The Guardian today:

Hay festival in disarray as director quits after bullying claim upheld

Exit of Peter Florence adds to list of woes that include two years of Covid cancellations and a sex assault claim against a Gulf royal.

You could write a book on this!

Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service deployed boat crews from Hereford and Worcester stations, a drone was used from Ledbury Fire Station and another fire crew from Fownhope were all mobilised to reports of a person in the River Wye in Hereford.

A Police helicopter was seen hovering over the River Wye using a search light and emergency services were near to the Bunch of Carrots. The incident was finally left with West Mercia Police

We reported the story late last night here https://hfd.news/kud

Here's a wonderful photo of one of the regular coal trains crossing the river along the Great Western Way from our Old Hereford Pics archive.

Who remembers when the trains were active along the GWW?

Herefordshire Council teams have recently completed a programme of resurfacing and drainage works on the U71005 - Sellack Boat, Kings Caple in Herefordshire

Leader of Herefordshire Council, Cllr David Hitchiner, has announced changes to Cabinet Member portfolios, to take effect from 1 August 2021.

Leader of Herefordshire Council, Cllr David Hitchiner

Councillor Pauline Crockett will step down from Cabinet due to personal reasons, but will continue her duties as a ward member.

Councillor Felicity Norman is the new Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Wellbeing, and Councillor Jenny Bartlett will continue as Cabinet Support Member.

Councillor Diana Toynbee’s Children’s and Family Services portfolio returns to the full list of responsibilities which Councillor Felicity Norman had when she had this portfolio, but with the addition of Councillor Kath Hey who is appointed as an additional Cabinet Support to support Young People’s Attainment, including post-16 education, training and skills development.

This additional support role is important to reflect the responsibilities that Councillor Toynbee has concerning the Improvement journey in Children’s Services and also the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people and to ensure that the county’s education and skills are aligned and delivered effectively.

The new Cabinet will come into effect from Sunday 1 August 2021:

• Councillor David Hitchiner - Leader of Herefordshire Council / Corporate strategy and budget
• Councillor Liz Harvey – Deputy Leader of Herefordshire Council / Finance, Corporate Services and Planning
• Councillor Diana Toynbee - Children’s and Family Services, and Young People’s Attainment
• Councillor Gemma Davies - Commissioning, Procurement and Assets
• Councillor Ellie Chowns – Environment and Economy
• Councillor Felicity Norman - Health and Adult Wellbeing
• Councillor John Harrington - Infrastructure and Transport
• Councillor Ange Tyler - Housing, Regulatory Services and Community Safety

West Mercia Police wrote;

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"A statement from Superintendent Edd Williams following videos that have recently been circulating on social media.

“We’re aware of two videos circulating on social media filmed at Leominster and Hereford Police Stations showing our officers engaging with a man who was filming in a public place, outside the police station.

Whilst anyone can legally film in a public place there are security and safety considerations around filming police buildings.

Our officers are trained to measure the threat, harm and risk of incidents and act accordingly, and where necessary will challenge individuals.

“However, while it is only right that officers do challenge individuals this should be done in a friendly, professional and appropriate manner.

We recognise the behaviour of one officer in the videos is not to the standard we would expect when engaging with the public and have spoken to the officer about this.

“Our officers will continue to be proactive in addressing security concerns in and around police premises, which is as much about protecting the public as it is our own workforce.”

 

Hereford Video https://youtu.be/10BTI0woGfU

Leominster Video https://youtu.be/cWlN_NLBJtk

#HerefordVoice | #HerefordNews | #LeominsterNews

In line with government advice on the removal of many Covid-19 restrictions, Herefordshire Council will begin the process of removing some Emergency Active Travel Measures following the 19 July 2021. 

Some measures will be removed in the weeks following the 19th July, whilst the removal of others will follow after the summer to allow a more sensible and balanced return to pre-Covid streetscapes. 

The initial elements to be removed are:

• Footway widening in High Street Bromyard, Broad Street and King Street Hereford
• Temporary 20mph limits in Hereford and the Market Towns
• Highway Covid warning signage in Ross on Wye & Kington
• Friday closure of High Street Leominster
• Extension to closure time of Widemarsh Street Hereford

Elements to be removed at the end of September:

• Old Wye Bridge Closure Hereford
• Footway widening in Bridge Street Hereford

The following elements are to remain for the time being:

• Closure of Aubrey Street Hereford
• Advisory cycle lane on Ledbury Road Hereford

Cllr John Harrington, Cabinet member for Infrastructure and Transport, said: 

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“In line with the government’s advice that social distancing and other restrictions are no longer mandatory, we will start to return roads and pavements back to their original layout. 

“During this period many hospitality outlets have applied for pavement licences which we have been happy to support to allow these local Herefordshire businesses to trade as best as possible. Businesses will be able to continue trading until these licences expire at the end of September, so that they and patrons can enjoy the summer and school holidays.

“After some consideration we have decided to keep the Old Bridge closed to non-pedestrian or cycling traffic (except emergency vehicles, buses and taxis) until the end of September. We have seen significant increases in walking and cycling in this area during the partial closure and I hope businesses who were initially nervous have seen the benefits of slower and less congested streets. The footway widening in Bridge Street will remain in place until 30 September to support the continuing closure of the Old Bridge and street pavement licences.         

“I want to thank everyone for their input over the last few months, I know these measures were not universally popular but I believe this period of restrictions has allowed us to see a different way of using our streets. I am committed to providing the best environment for both continued use of motor vehicles in the centre of Hereford whilst encouraging better walking and cycling routes and better use of our pavements for hospitality outlets. 

“We are working towards a masterplan for the City environs and will consult fully with all stakeholders and the public to get the best input for the vision we hopefully all share for our vibrant city and market towns.” 

Over the past few years, we have noticed more and more planning applications to change use from shops to residential flats and accommodation. Again today plans have been submitted here for 145 Eign Street

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Proposed variation of condition 2 of planning permission 163094 (Proposed change of use of shop to two flats and new dormer window to south elevation) minor changes to layout and change from Dormer to roof extension.

Hereford shops are slowly disappearing and Herefordshire Council are often granting these plans. We will attempt to start highlighting each of these applications to show the scale of this trend from the Council.

How plans were passed in Eign Street for this lot previously is beyond comprehension, how is this in keeping with the surrounding area? These buildings bricked up look horrendous! 

Reduce, reuse, recycle, recover – a new way for managing waste

Reducing the amount of waste we produce, and reusing and recycling where possible, benefits the county and the environment, and is the aim of a new waste strategy for Herefordshire agreed at the council’s cabinet meeting today (29 July).

The new waste strategy sets out the changes that will be taking place to the way that household and business waste is collected and then treated, and schemes that support and encourage a reduction in the amount of waste being produced. These include:

• Reduce – promoting schemes that reduce the amount we throw away such as community fridge schemes
• Reuse – supporting organisations that repair and reuse items, community share schemes and encouraging donations to charity
• Recycle – composting garden waste, supporting people to recycle more
• Recover – introducing a new kerbside food waste collection and producing energy from food waste

The small proportion of waste remaining will only then go to landfill.

The strategy also sets out changes to the black bin and recycling collections based on feedback from a resident consultation held earlier this year, when around 3,500 people told us what worked well for them and what could be improved about their kerbside collection service.

A number of pilot schemes will trial these changes to see what works best, so that they can be introduced across the county in the most effective way.Cllr Gemma Davies, cabinet member commissioning, procurement and assets said:

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“We want to introduce and support more ways for people to reuse and recycle, reduce the amount of waste we all produce and ultimately reduce what goes to landfill, as this benefits residents and communities and is better for the environment. Our new waste strategy sets out clear measures to achieve this.

“The council’s waste collection and disposal contracts are due to end in 2024. It is important that we use this opportunity to align our waste strategy with our vision for a more sustainable county and our declared climate and ecological emergency, and to fully consider how to make changes to meet the requirements of the government’s 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy for England.

“I am particularly excited to see how we can work with our local communities to support and encourage people to reuse and recycle more. They do say one person’s trash is another person’s treasure - and we have set an ambitious target to increase the amount of recycling in the county. We also intend to make better use of our garden waste for composting and food waste to produce energy.”

 

The new waste strategy, as well as the outcome of the rubbish and recycling consultation, can be found on the Herefordshire Council website.

Police in Hereford are appealing for information following a racially aggravated assault in the city.

The incident happened in the Church Street area of the city at around 4.00pm on Wednesday 7 July 2021. The victim sustained facial injuries as a result.

Officers are appealing for any witnesses to come forward with information and are particularly interested in identifying the man shown in the image below.

If you have any information please contact PC Karol Kujawa on 07971 395081 quoting incident number 369i of the 7th July 2021 or report anonymously using the Tell Us About section of the website.

Following on from our article yesterday here 👉 https://hfd.news/hwo Andrew Thompson, aged 52, Hereford, has been charged with attempt murder and will appear in Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court today (Thursday 29 July).

He has been charged in relation to an incident that occurred in the early hours of Tuesday (27 July) in Dartmouth Court, Hereford.

The cordons have now been released and we would like thank the community for their patience and help with our investigation.

Officers have arrested a 52-year-old man from Hereford on suspicion of attempted murder.

The arrest was made after police were alerted to an incident at an address in Dartmouth Court at 2.12am on Tuesday 27 July.

A man has received treatment for stab injuries to his neck and abdomen, he is now in a stable condition.

A cordon remains in place at Dartmouth Court.

The 52-year-old remains in custody while the investigation continues.

We are asking for members of the public that may have seen or heard anything suspicious in the area of Dartmouth Court between 2am - 3am on Tuesday 27 July to please contact us via the website or via 101 quoting reference 55i of 27 July.

UK water firms can raise prices temporarily to offset Covid costs

The UK’s water regulator is to allow utility companies to increase prices temporarily starting next year to offset higher bad debt costs because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Water companies from April will bear 25% of bad debt costs where these are more than 2% of non-household revenue, and non-household customers will bear the rest, the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) said in a statement.

The regulator added that the adjustments to price caps would apply for a minimum of two years.

Utilities have been struggling with a sharp drop in water consumption by businesses as virus restrictions have moved people out of office buildings and into remote working, while defaults have also been rising.

The largest water companies in the UK include Thames Water, United Utilities, Severn Trent and the South West Water owner, Pennon.

“These decisions aim to protect the interests of non-household customers in the short and longer term … as the business retail market continues to feel the impacts of Covid-19,” said Georgina Mills, Ofwat’s business retail market director.

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I would have thought that if there is a drop in water consumption and people using meters to save water, I can't see why water companies can ask for more money, but it's no surprise. Same with all the other utilities - they have got the public over a water barrell.

Not only central government putting money into their friends' pockets, but together with local authorities bleating that they have no money due to poor financial control, things don't bode well for the future and for us citizens. Nobody really Cares because they have no Respect for the electorate, are thoroughly unAware of what is happening under their noses, all resulting in a complete lack of Pride for their surroundings. Years going by, nothing happening of benefit and money washing down the drain.

Council Tax set to rise by 4.99% as council faces long-term Covid-19 cost pressures on its budget

Full Council has approved the 2021/22 budget today (12 February 2021). This includes the setting of Herefordshire Council tax rates which will come into effect from April 2021.

The final budget takes into account the 2021/22 final local government finance settlement announced by central government. This includes:

A new ‘Lower Tier’ Services Grant of £0.25m

Revenue Support Grant funding of £0.6m

New Homes Bonus funding of £1.7m

Rural Services Delivery Grant of £5.3m

The council is continuing to face long-term Covid-19 cost pressures on its budget. The council has looked first to find savings within its core activities to offset these costs. This has resulted in £11.2m in savings being identified across the council’s services – the largest one-year saving this council has ever had to make.

Councillor Liz Harvey, Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Services, said:

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“2020 didn’t turn out the way any of us expected, and none of us anticipated the impact the Covid-19 pandemic would have on us nationally and locally. The council’s 2021 budget has to address a shortfall of £15.1m in a base budget of £157m – that’s almost 10% savings in-year – whilst continuing to deliver on core and statutory public services.

“We have managed to identify more than £11m of internal savings, but following consultation with the public and stakeholders, we do need to set a 4.99% Council Tax increase to bridge the funding gap.

“We are mindful that this is a very challenging time for everyone, so alongside this tax rise we have also increased the Council Tax discount scheme to 100%, for those that qualify, and we are providing £1.9m to fund this alongside the council’s local assistance fund for others experiencing financial hardship.”

Council Tax funds around 29% of the council’s budget. A 4.99% total increase to Council Tax has been recommended. This is an equivalent rise of £1.51 a week for a Band D property. The increase is made from a 3% increase to the ‘adult social care precept’ and 1.99% increase to ‘core Council Tax’. In total this will provide £3.2m towards the cost of council services.

Residents on a low income may be eligible for help to pay their bill through the Council Tax Reduction scheme. Some residents will continue to pay no Council Tax at all, such as young adults who have left care and, with effect from 2021, also all the council’s Foster Carer families.

The Centre, which is owned by the Council and managed by Social Enterprise and Registered Charity Halo Leisure was forced to close in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The original plan was to reopen in August 2020 along with all other leisure facilities, however, this wasn’t possible due to severe and deliberate damage caused to the roof of the Centre through vandalism.

Since then the contractors working on behalf of the Council have made the building watertight and repaired the substantial water damage caused by the vandalism. The Centre is now due reopening ahead of schedule today.

Alex Haines, Halo Partnership Manager said:

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"When the centre reopens it is going to be a real hub of activity with gym workouts, an exciting range of exciting group exercise classes, badminton, sports hall activities and library all under one (recently repaired) roof. Bookings are now open on the Halo Leisure Bromyard Centre app for gym and group exercise sessions".

Cllr Gemma Davies, Cabinet member for commissioning, procurement and assets, said:

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“We have all been frustrated that The Bromyard Centre has had to remain closed for such a long time, and we are very sorry that needless vandalism prevented the Centre from re-opening much sooner. The benefits that come from such community assets, including boosts for physical and mental health, and community cohesion, are needed now more than ever.

“Halo customers and the community in general have been anxious to see their Centre return to business, and we are delighted that it will be re-opening its doors this month, providing a great way for residents to get active and enjoy themselves this summer.”