Joint statement from Public Health Midlands (West) and Herefordshire Council

Herefordshire Council is working with Public Health England (PHE) Midlands to support vegetable producers AS Green and Co, based in Mathon near Malvern, following an outbreak of COVID-19 among their workforce.

Around 200 key workers are employed to carry out picking and packing work vital to the UK food supply chain and local economy. During the harvesting season, the workforce resides in mobile homes based on the farm, so as a precaution, the whole group are being treated as one extended bubble. Workers are being asked to remain on the farm during the period of isolation and stay within household groups, to reduce risk of spread within the workforce and into the wider community. Herefordshire Council is arranging food and essential supplies for residents on the site, while they self-isolate.

Katie Spence, PHE Midlands Health Protection Director, said: 

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“We are working closely with the management at AS Green and Co to support the health and wellbeing of their workforce and wider public health.

“At this phase of the pandemic, we still expect to see cases in the community and within settings where people are closer together, such as workplaces, which is why the Test and Trace system is important, to help us pick up on any potential problems and swiftly to take remedial action to reduce spread."

“To support this workforce of around 200 key workers, the company has put in place a range of infection control measures to try to reduce the risk of staff being exposed to COVID-19. Measures include supporting testing on site, promoting social distancing in communal social areas and in the indoor packaging area; providing PPE for staff where applicable, encouraging regular handwashing for at least 20 seconds, and promoting the use of face coverings in closed areas."

“Despite these measures, a small number of workers became symptomatic earlier this week and they and a few close contacts among the workforce were tested initially and found to be positive. In line with NHS guidance, affected individuals were asked to  self-isolate for 7 days, with their households and close contacts asked to isolate for 14 days."

“As we have seen a global trend of large food producers being subject to outbreaks, as a precautionary measure, the decision was made to test the entire workforce. The initial batch of results showed a significant percentage of positive cases, despite these individuals being asymptomatic. We are still awaiting a few final results, but currently we have 73 positive cases of COVID-19 among the workforce."

“PHE Midlands and Herefordshire Council are therefore working with AS Green and Co to closely monitor and manage the outbreak and support individual workers.”

A spokesperson for AS Green said:

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“Our staff are our priority, they are hard-working key workers helping us provide food for the country during these unusual times. We contacted PHE and we are working closely with them and Public Health at Herefordshire Council to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”

Karen Wright, Director of Public Health for Herefordshire, said:

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“While Herefordshire is the first to experience an outbreak of this kind, this is not unexpected. Our priority is to protect the health and wellbeing of all residents in our community. Prompt testing on the farm has allowed us to understand transmission and control the spread of infection. We continue to support the farm management, their workers – who form an important part of our local economy, and the local community through this challenging time. Anyone who has a fever, persistent dry cough, or loss or change in their sense of taste or smell should call 119 or go online to arrange a test.”

Wilson Florists this store was located in Wilsons Chambers, Commercial Street Hereford in the 1970/80s.

Photograph taken from our vast archive at our 'Old Hereford Pics' website

Buzz Bingo (formally Gala Bingo) in Berrington Street Hereford to remain CLOSED.

In a statement on their Facebook page CEO Chris Matthews wrote: 

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Dear Buzz Bingo member,

I hope that you have been keeping well over the last few months, we’ve really missed seeing you at our clubs.

While we are planning the phased reopening of our clubs from 6th August, as many of you will understand, with our clubs closed since 21st March, Coronavirus has had a significant impact on our business and on the entire leisure and hospitality industry. We have therefore had to make some difficult decisions about how we move forward and ensure that we protect the future of Buzz Bingo.

It is, therefore, with sadness that I need to share with you that 26 of our clubs will not reopen, and will close permanently in a proposed restructure of our retail business. The full list of club closures is below;

Chatham, Salford, Salisbury, Antelope Park, Banbury, Boston, Bournemouth, Bridlington, Carlisle, Chorley, Cramlington, Derby Foresters, Edinburgh Westerhailes, Harpurhey, Hereford, Kilmarnock, Milton Keynes, Oxford Kassam, Stockland Green, Tamworth, Wednesbury, Weymouth, Wigan Robin Park, Wolverhampton, Worcester, Wythenshawe. 

Our Buzz Bingo community means the world to us, and we know how disappointing this news will be – especially for those of our customers who are losing their local club, and of course, our colleagues – we know that we are more than just a club, we are part of your community, and for that, I am really sorry.

We could never have expected this outcome when we closed our doors on 21st March, but the coronavirus crisis is a completely one-off event. The decision to restructure our club portfolio is the right way to secure our long-term future and make sure that we can still bring bingo to our customers in the majority of our clubs around the country and online at buzzbingo.com.

We are reopening 12 clubs on 6th August and the rest of our clubs will be reopening in the coming weeks, and, of course, our online bingo and slots are open to all at buzzbingo.com. I really hope that you will continue to enjoy playing with us.

If you have any questions, we have put together a Q&A below that we hope you will find helpful. You can contact our Customer Service team between 10am and 10pm by email support@buzzbingo.com, or you can reach us via Live Chat on buzzbingo.com. Thank you so much for your continued loyalty, support and understanding.

Keep safe.
Chris

Chris Matthews
CEO of Buzz Bingo

 

 Why is Buzz Bingo closing clubs?

Coronavirus has had a significant impact on our business and on the entire leisure and hospitality industry.

Following government advice, we temporarily closed all clubs from 21st March, meaning we have been unable to generate any revenues from our retail business, and day to day operations have been severely affected.

The affects will be felt for many months to come, so we have had to make some difficult decisions about how we move forward and ensure a sustainable future for Buzz Bingo.

Our Buzz Bingo community means the world to us, and we know how disappointing this news will be – especially for those of our customers who are losing their local club, and of course, our colleagues from those clubs.

The decision to restructure our club portfolio is the right way to secure our long-term future and make sure that we can still bring bingo to our customers in the majority of our clubs around the country and online at buzzbingo.com.

We are reopening 12 clubs on 6th August with more to come and, of course, our online bingo and slots are open to all at buzzbingo.com.

I have credit on my account and my club is closing – will I get it back? How?

Absolutely. Any customers with credit on their account should contact customer services who will organise a refund for you.

Contact our Customer Service team between 10am and 10pm by email at support@buzzbingo.com, or you can chat to one of our Live Chat Stars at buzzbingo.com.

How do I contact you?

Contact our Customer Service team between 10am and 10pm by email support@buzzbingo.com, or you can reach us via Live Chat on buzzbingo.com.

Wearing a face covering in shops and supermarkets in England is to become mandatory from 24 July.

Those who fail to comply with the new rules could face a fine of up to £100, the government has announced.

The move will bring England into line with Scotland and other major European nations like Spain, Italy and Germany.

Enforcement will be carried out by police - not retail staff - and anyone failing to wear a face covering while shopping will be subject to a fine of up to £100, or £50 if paid within 14 days.

Can wearing face masks stop the virus?

Face masks won't stop coronavirus from spreading so you still need to follow health officials' advice for social distancing and washing your hands regularly. What they can do is help reduce the likelihood that you pass it on if you are suffering from the virus – remember that there are also people who don't show symptoms of COVID-19.

As Professor Chris Whitty, the government's Chief Medical Officer, puts it, wearing a face covering "is an added precaution that may have some benefit in reducing the likelihood that a person with the infection passes it on." 

Most retailers producing these commercially-available face masks state that the face masks they sell are not sold as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for health and care workers to use in the work place.

Who is exempt? 

Children under 11 and people with certain disabilities will be exempt as they already are on public transport.

Other countries 

The World Health Organisation shifted towards recommending face coverings in June.

Britons have been among the slowest to embrace mass mask-wearing. Many European countries, including Germany, Spain, Italy and Greece, have already made it compulsory to wear face coverings inside shops. A YouGov poll found that 36% of people in the UK wear a face mask in public places, compared with 86% in Spain, 83% in Italy, 78% in France and 65% in Germany.

Tourists visiting the Costa del Sol must wear masks in public places from Wednesday, mirroring moves in Catalonia and the Balearics to fine people up to £90 for flouting the rules.

The Greggs branch on Belmont Road which we originally reported opening here only in November 2017 has closed down with a Cooke & Arkwright TO LET sign in the window.

The branch at 109-111 Belmont Road, next to the existing Domino's was targeting new and existing customers in South Wye Hereford but this strategy has clearly failed.

Greggs is a long-standing client of Cooke & Arkwright, who previously announced that they had helped Greggs bolster its presence in Wales during 2018 by sourcing and securing nine new units, collectively creating over a 100 new jobs. 

During 2018, the bakery giant opened nine new premises in Wales and the Marches which include Belmont Road in Hereford, New Road in Neath Abbey, the former Little Chef in Newtown, a store on Stephens Way in Carmarthen, a prominent roadside unit on the A470 in Builth Wells, a unit in Cardiff city centre within the new BBC building in the landmark Central Square development, and three new units in the Newport area, being on Cardiff Rd, Caerleon Rd, and to the east of the city on the Langland Park West industrial estate.

As part of its ongoing work with Greggs, which has spanned over 25 years, Cooke & Arkwright’s responsibilities have included identifying and sourcing new locations and agreeing new lease terms, assisting with the business rates on the portfolio and renewing expired leases.

The planning application for the proposed erection of two storey McDonalds restaurant with drive-thru, car parking, landscaping, play place and associated works on land at Morrisons Car Park Barons Cross Road Leominster in Herefordshire have today been withdrawn.

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THE COUNTY OF HEREFORDSHIRE DISTRICT COUNCIL hereby gives notice that the above application is WITHDRAWN. 

Application P181448/F

Statement from Herefordshire Council strongly rejects the Prime Minister’s comments that ‘too many care homes didn't really follow the procedures in the way that they could have’. Read the full statement from Herefordshire Council in response to the Prime Minister’s recent comments regarding care homes.

Herefordshire Council strongly rejects the Prime Minister’s comments that ‘too many care homes didn't really follow the procedures in the way that they could have’. Cabinet Member for Adults & Wellbeing, Councillor Pauline Crockett, said:

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“Herefordshire has so far experienced the sad loss of 60 people in care homes across the county. Our thoughts are with all those who have lost loved ones, and we continue to do all we can to prevent more people and families from suffering. Care homes and care providers in Herefordshire have responded with the highest level of bravery and professionalism throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and continue to provide the highest quality of care under difficult circumstances. By no means are deaths in care homes a reflection of the quality of care provided by a hard working care sector.

“Herefordshire Council continues to work closely with care homes and providers to provide high volumes of PPE to help keep residents safe and to protect staff. Support for the care sector from government was slow and the guidance offered was confusing and changing almost daily. Shifting the blame this way towards local care providers shows poor judgement. In my view, the response from all of our care providers, including care homes has been nothing short of amazing.”

The club confirmed the news in a statement explaining that both are asymptomatic but, as part of the procedures introduced by Premiership Rugby as part of Stage Two of the Return to Training Protocols, they will be re-tested. 

Both are currently self-isolating at home.

Stage Two of the Return to Training Protocols require clubs to provide a written declaration to Premiership Rugby that they have met a number of key criteria alongside a full risk assessment informing the operational policy for their training facility. These include:

• All players and support staff must undertake an Education Module and sign a formal “opt in” process for moving to Stage 2.
• All players and designated support staff undergoing weekly COVID-19 testing, and maintaining the high standards of hygiene introduced at training facilities.
• All clubs in conjunction with Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Football Union undertaking a rugby risk assessment to support the mitigation of risk in training.
• The continuation of a daily medical screening for players and support staff, which involves the completion of a symptom checklist and temperature check before entering the training facility.
• A contact tracing protocol which will be supported by GPS data and the videoing of training sessions.
• The provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) appropriate for the setting.

Hereford's New Foodie

🇵🇱 Uwaga! Ogłaszamy konkurs! Do wygrania przepyszne specjały kuchni Polska Street Food o wartości £25 !🇵🇱

We have teamed up with our Polish friends at Hereford's latest restaurant and takeaway Polska Street Food

(we've had many dishes already and can assure you the food is lush)🥙🌮🍕🍟🌭🌯🥖🍔

To be in with a chance of winning a superb selection of food from their fantastic menu all you have to do is follow these 3 simple steps...

👉 LIKE & SHARE Polska Street Food & Hereford Voice 
👉 Comment, telling us which dishes you would like to try
👉 Tag a friend who would enjoy some new style food 😜

A lucky winner will be selected at random on Tues 14 July 
(Entrants MUST at least 16 years of age)

☎️ 01432381200 - 'Just Eat' or visit their website HERE

Good Luck 👍
Competition / Giveaway T&C's

#HerefordVoice #hvcomps #Hereford #hfdcomps

Thousands of homeowners across the UK are set to receive vouchers of up to £5,000 for energy-saving home improvements as part of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s proposed £2bn grant scheme in England.

The Green Homes Grant, announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer today, will give hundreds of thousands of homeowners vouchers of up to £5,000 for energy-saving home improvements, a move which the Treasury hopes will help to support more than 100,000 jobs in the industry.

The Chancellor also revealed that the poorest homeowners could receive up to £10,000 as part of the plans.

Rishi Sunak set out a £2bn grant scheme in England for projects such as insulation as part of a wider £3bn plan to cut carbon emissions.

Under the Green Homes Grant, the government will pay at least two-thirds of the cost of home improvements that save energy, the Treasury said.

For example, a homeowner of a semi-detached or end-of-terrace house could install cavity wall and floor insulation for about £4,000 – the homeowner would pay £1,320 while the government would contribute £2,680.

The scheme will launch in September, with online applications for recommended energy efficiency measures, along with details of accredited local suppliers. Once one of these suppliers has provided a quote and the work is approved, the voucher is issued.

WIN a Sunday Roast for 2 People at The Den Hereford.

"It's what Sundays are all about" 

We have teamed up with our lovely friends at The Den to celebrate their reopening this coming weekend. 

To be in with a chance of winning a mouthwatering Sunday roast for two people on Sunday 12th July between 12-4pm (table has already been reserved) pop over to our Facebook page..

👉 LIKE & SHARE The Den & Hereford Voice FB Pages
👉 Leave a comment telling us your favourite veg or meat
👉 Tag a friend who would love a roast 😜

A lucky winner will be selected at random on Wed 8th July 
(Entrants MUST at least 16 years of age and available Sunday 12th July 2020)

Good Luck 👍
Competition / Giveaway T&C's 

#HerefordVoice #hvcomps #Hereford #hfdcomps

At approximately 11.30pm on Sunday night, Ledbury Fire Station attended a tree fire in #Eastnor near Eastnor Castle.

The tree was well alight when the crews arrived and unfortunately it was not possible to extinguish quickly. 

Great efforts were made by the crew from Ledbury and also by a crew from Upton Upon Severn Fire Station. The crews ran out hose approximately 120metres and used an appliance to shuttle water to and from the incident all through the night. Foam was also used to blanket the tree in great efforts to save it.

This once magnificent tree in question is a very well known and admired tree called #TheWhiteLeavedOak. We understand that this tree is visited by people from all over the world and plays a large part in the rituals of Druids. 

The White Leaved Oak is thought to be around 500 years old and is featured on many websites and books.

The cause of the fire is unknown, However please be careful when visiting the countryside, especially when visiting somewhere that is as sacred or precious to many people.

Tesco will be relaxing some of their social distancing measures from tomorrow.

The store will be removing the one way system in the aisles and all arrow floor stickers will be removed with some being replaced with occasional 'Keep Your Distance' stickers.

Tesco feel now is the time to improve the ease of shop across their stores and also remove the need for staff to what are sometimes, difficult conversations with customers. 

We understand that other measures will also be relaxed similar to that now in place at the Ledbury store, where door staff will no longer be restricting customer numbers entering the store, customers will also need to clean their own shopping trolleys.

B&Q have also removed the need to have a trolley when entering their store in Hereford and customers are also required to clean their own trolley, if one is required. Sanitisers and cloths will still be provided.

Herefordshire Council have made a u-turn from last week when they reintroduced parking charges only offering a free 30 minute window as we reported in this article however, today there is some better news for local businesses as the council have now completely lifted the charges altogether for the best part of a month to help businesses recover from the Covid-19 lockdown.

Parking charges lifted temporarily in town and city car parks to support business

To support local business during this particularly difficult time and encourage people to visit their high street rather than shop on-line, Herefordshire Council is offering free parking on street and in council car parks* from Saturday 27 June until Friday 24 July 2020.

Cllr John Harrington, Cabinet member for infrastructure and transport explains:

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“After listening to the concerns expressed by parish and town councils, by ward members and particularly those from businesses and Hereford BID, I’ve taken the decision to reintroduce free parking for four weeks, to help give retailers and the hospitality trade a much needed boost at this critical time.

“We hope to be able to follow this with a scheme later in the year with incentives to encourage people to stay for longer for less money, encouraging them to spend more time supporting our retail and hospitality outlets, particularly our independent businesses.

“Like every other council across the country we have parking charges for several good reasons. Charges help us to encourage people to travel in a different way, by walking or cycling for example. For those that want to or must drive, varying those charges allows us to encourage shoppers and other visitors to park outside the urban centres by charging them less for staying longer, whilst those that want to park right in the centres are expected to pay more. Charges keep spaces turning over especially in the City and town centres.

“Ideally we would love people to really think about travelling a different way in town, especially when you consider for example that over 50% of the residents of Hereford travel less than two miles to shop or commute to work. We have all been encouraged by the boost in walking and cycling lockdown brought and we intend to support those ambitions in any way we can whilst recognising some folks must travel in by car.      

“Herefordshire Council has made a commitment to support local business, encourage people to visit our historic city and market towns, and buy locally. After years of austerity and with challenging financial times ahead we cannot afford to provide free parking forever as we use this income to subsidise public transport and school buses. So, in the longer term we will be looking at other ways to encourage people to safely visit our wonderful city and historic market towns. There is an opportunity to look to do things in a different way while supporting local business.”

Resident parking and other restrictions will be enforced.

*Excludes Friar St Military Club car park, at their request

Hereford FC is delighted to announce that popular local restaurant The Beefy Boys, will be the home short sponsor for the upcoming 2020/21 season.

Lee Symonds of The Beefy Boys said, 

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“We were delighted with how our first season’s sponsorship with Hereford FC went so we are delighted to be the home short sponsors for the upcoming season.”

Hereford FC General Manager, James Watts said: “

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It is fantastic news that we have secured The Beefy Boys for the upcoming season with Hereford FC. We will continue to look at ways to progress the partnership this season as we know a lot of our supporters are regular visitors to the restaurant”.

Local people from Herefordshire and the rest of the UK can now travel freely to and from Wales as the lockdown measures that were introduced in March are lifted from today 6th July 2020.

The Welsh government had imposed a "stay local" requirement which advised people to remain within five miles of their home.

Visitor attractions can open and it will pave the way for the tourism sector to begin re-opening from July 11, providing conditions allow.

Families will be reunited as people from two households are now able to form one extended household.

Herefordshire Council have fast-tracked a 7 day order to close the Old Bridge to northbound traffic by converting the road to a pedestrian and cyclist only route. Buses will still be able to use the route. 

These decisions have been made behind closed doors as it's a seven day order there is no public consultation required, is this transparent enough❓

There are many concerns by local businesses about a huge potential loss of trade. We understand that traders were notified on June 20 with the consultation ending on June 23

People living south of Hereford will be most inconvenienced by these changes, If you needed to drive into the city centre your main route would be to drive to the Steels roundabout northbound to then come back southbound to gain access into Broad St and King St. Motorists could attempt to turn right into St. Nicholas St but that junction at best only allows one or two vehicles to cross before the lights change.

Additional cycles routes and reduced speed limits are welcome but are these changes going to cause more traffic mayhem particularly if the Greyfriars bridge becomes blocked?

The measures in Hereford are shown on the attached map and comprise:
- 20mph zones
- On street cycle lanes
- Footway widening
- Extension to the city centre timed closure
- Closure of the old Wye Bridge to all but buses and cycles

The measures are temporary and although they have a maximum period of 18 months, they will be monitored and retained only for as long as necessary. If a measure is felt to be suitable for retention in the long term, a fully TRO process with consultation will be required.

I have not fished the lake for probably nearly 30 years. I have started fishing again. Are there any fish left in them?