Colin James

A government inspector has overruled Herefordshire Council and granted the appeal. A three-storey building can now be developed on the site of the former public toilets at The Oval.

I think this is good news, I would rather a nice new building instead of looking at those terrible toilets!

New countryside site for Herefordshire

South Wye Regeneration Partnership, Herefordshire Council, Belmont Rural Parish Council and Hereford City have worked closely together to finally complete the purchase of Belmont Pools. This taking place shows the true value that can be achieved from working together.

Belmont Pools make up sizeable lakes on the doorstep of Hereford City and they are both an important recreational resource and valuable wildlife habitat and the intention will be to make them properly accessible to the public as soon as is practically possible.

Will Lindesay, South Wye Regeneration Partnership, Chair said: We are absolutely delighted that this purchase has now taken place and look forward to developing an action plan to take the development of the pools forward.

Thanks to the commitment and interest shown from the community, we will be able to develop this into a wonderful recreational space. We will be working with our partners to distribute a leaflet to local residents and plan to have a community meeting in the new year to advise on progress and plans, he added.

Rob Hemblade, interim parks, countryside and leisure development manager at Herefordshire Council, said although the county benefits from its many rivers, stretches of open water such as lakes and pools are quite rare so this site will offer a tranquil place for local people to visit and enjoy.

The Pools are also a haven for wildlife and important for many waterbirds such as swan, heron, various species of ducks, moorhens and other waders which inhabit or visit the pools as well as the wealth of other wildlife that the water supports.

The next step is for the Countryside Service with its Partners is to produce and implement a management plan for the site to bring the pools and surrounding woodland back into appropriate management for both wildlife and public access, and carry out repair work on the dams,†he added.

The purchase of the pools also brings Herefordshire one step closer to the realisation of the proposed Haywood Country Park for south Hereford.

The pair of man-made pools on the A465 south west of Hereford are near to Belmont Abbey and next to Newton Coppice. Not too much is known about their history - many people assume they were created as fishing pools for Belmont Abbey, however the Pools appear on the tithe maps of 1839, pre-dating the Abbey, which was not built until 1854.
In more recent history they were used by the former Bulmers Fishing Club whilst being in private ownership.

Do we need yellow boxes on the Tesco roundabout?

The bus is in Newton Farm on Thursdays, opposite Kilvert Road Park - times from 6pm til 8.30pm. Nintendo Wii, refreshments, info and fun! Its FREE!

I initially suggested this back in May 2008!! not heard anything more since...

Here was my original post on another belmont forum;

I have lived in Belmont for over 19 years, and as the years have gone by, the traffic has got worse. My biggest gripe is when I try to take my children to Kingstone School in the morning. Approach the roundabout from the Tesco side and you are faced with a long line of traffic coming from the Abergavenny direction. I need to go right but traffic is so bad I cannot cross the roundabout until someone lets me out or if I force my way across. We need some yellow boxes here! This would keep the flow of traffic moving. I am surprised that something like this has not yet been enforced.

 

C James

May 26 2008