Maggie May

If they invested some of this money in improving the road surfaces around town it would make cycling locally a lot safer for people like me. Many other authorities like Nottingham have taxed car parking places and then used the money to fund trams and other transport options to give people a choice to avoid the higher car parking charges by leaving their cars behind. In Hereford they seem to want to price people out of cars but not to offer an alternative.

This couldnt be more different from the original masterplan for the ESG area http://www.esgherefordshire.co.uk/news/masterplan-for-herefords-future-prosperity-unveiled/  . "The whole area is designed to favour walking, cycling and public transport, with a new boulevard linking the railway station to the city centre for the first time since the station was built in 1855. Sustainability is a cornerstone of the development plans. A linear park running through the development, from College Road bridge to the heart of the new development, will create an environmentally friendly pedestrian route and natural wildlife habitat."  

What happened to "sustainability"? With all these traffic lights are the Council trying to create a whole new Air Quality management area with stop/start  cars. As Denise says these people just cannot be qualified to do the job.

Thank you for this Cloudberry. It looks as if Herefordshire could drop down the listings in future years as it seems the majority of these fantastic, ancient trees lie  to the west of Hereford where the Council are looking to build the Bypass. So they wont be ancient and venerable for many more years. A real shame for the trees and future generations, who will only have the pictures to look at. 

The council's new website is unable to load up its financial pages today (Saturday 4th March). Their figures are so transparent you can't see them!

However, one of the pages that you can see is the questions to full council and the answers that have been given http://councillors.herefordshire.gov.uk/documents/b13800/Answers%20to%20questions%20from%20members%20of%20the%20public%20and%20formal%20questions%20from%20councillors%20Friday%2003-Mar.pdf?T=9  . I see that there was a question about Hoople Ltd which shows that they have accummulated losses of over £1.369million and have a big deficit on their pension fund. The question gives alot more detail. It seems this is one area where our money may be going. Has any more happened about Mr Robinson and Hoople Ltd?

 

 

 

 

 

This taken from IOC's FB page with the blog from the full Council Meeting held today at Hereford  With apologies to IOC for copying this over.  However I am sure they will not mind!!

 

 Â· Reply Â· 6 hrs

 

Elizabeth Harvey Leader's Report. Cllr Lloyd-Hayes (IOC) asks where the sale of the council's smallholding estate fits into an economic vision for the county? The leader says the farms are being sold to reduce the council's borrowing in other areas and to invest in other projects [like the road to the west which has been given a route to go past two of the farms so the council can benefit frm this land being sold for housing development?]

 

Now just remind me why did they say in the first place why they wanted to sell the Council farms?

 

Denise I thought the small holdings estate provided income to fund some of our local services such as social care, grass cutting, waste collection, etc. as well as providing a ay into farming for some of our young people? If they are selling the farms to pay off their debts how does this generate income for these much needed services?

A road to the west surely wont do anything to generate income for our county and from what I have heard will just increase the Council's borrowing. A road to the west certainly wont help those living anywhere outside the City. Don't the council realise that people like me who live in Hereford only account for 1/3rd of the population this Council is supposed to serve? The Councillors making these decisions all live outside of the City so I hope people remember what has happened the next time they vote - in Herefordshire you cant have bus services, grass cant be cut, drains cant be cleaned and existing roads cannot be resurfaced

I read those minutes - the ref to £200k was ambiguous. For sure it will cost way more than that to build, so is this just fees? As for ongoing maintenance - ha, we all know that the Council do not maintain any of their assets, ever, despite taking the money for doing so. I expect this to be no different.

Haven't the council recently said it will not manage any new public open spaces because it hasn't got the money? Perhaps the Skylon Tower is a measuring stick to see how high they can get the grass to grow?

I agree with Denise. After the weather this week which seems to have lifted quite a few of the "dodgy road repairs" I really wish some money could be spent on maintaining what we have got. How can anyone look up at such a tall edifice if you have to watch every step, or where you are going so you don't have a bad accident. In Hereford the Council need to admit "They Can't" do what we pay our local taxes for so please stop all these vanity projects. If I was travelling to the Skylon Park I would be very unimpressed by such a tall structure if I was having to avoid potholes. Also the design of the structure makes me think it might help collect some of the ubiquitous plastic bags, fast food rubbish and other detritus that Megilleland has so well highlighted in his photo which will get caught up in all those wires.

I think Megilleland's photos are worthy of a Turner Prize award so perhaps this should be the basis of a landmark public art feature in Rotherwas and more in keeping with the council's aspirations for the County.

Whilst not a member of the protest group I completely understand their point of view. The Courtyard Arts Centre is being funded by the local taxpayer as an Arts Centre, which it does very well doing excellent work with dementia sufferers, young people's art groups, etc. I do not want my council tax to subsidies the arms and defence industries as I feel the same way about these businesses as I do about cigarette companies - they are selling products that in many cases lead to untimely deaths. There are many commercial places who I am sure would be happy to have hosted such an event if this needed to be held in Hereford and so I see no reason for this to have been hosted in The Courtyard. If this is what the Courtyard feels is a priority in our society then I think the public subsidy should be removed and the money better spent on filling the potholes which risk many death and injuries to local people on a daily basis. 

Like twowheelsgood I kept reporting potholes as I cycled around the City. In some areas they got sorted, but some, particularly those in the City Centre roads, just never got done. That exposed ironwork by Walnut Tree Avenue is a killer and very bad even if you drive over it in a car! The Council's website for reporting potholes shows some were reported over 2 years ago and yet still no action has been taken.

I saw this

 Here for Hereford â€@HereforHereford  Jan 26

Perhaps some of this could be used to make the roads safer for cyclists and walkers?

I note that by now a small percentage more of Bill Wiggin's constituents are voting against Trump than those in Jesse's constituency. 

I heard that the money for the "bypass" project  coming from the local transport maintenance budget. If Cloudberry is right people are already doing surveys in the countryside it means that the people employed to fill all the potholes, clear the drains to prevent the roads from flooding (this has already happened a couple of times this winter at the Asda roundabout) have had their funding cut. As a cyclist having to veer round lots of potholes in the roads just in Hereford at risk to myself and sometimes other road users, it makes me cross that this Council do not do the job we pay them to namely maintain our roads, empty our bins, provide social care services, libraries, etc! 

Will make little difference to the plan for a by pass.The new housing Estate in Three Elms cannot go ahead without it

I heard that the bypass makes no difference to the development at the Three Elms site. I heard that the Three Elms site has many more problems around the issue of risking flooding the City Centre and also contaminating the water supplies for Cargill & Heineken. A bypass wont improve how people get in and out of the City centre for jobs, education, shopping, hospital, doctors, cinema etc.  Perhaps if all the money for new roads was used to open up a few railway stations and improve alternatives to using the car there would be a bigger impact on tackling the congestion than a bypass. I read on the Here for Hereford website that the Bypass was just to be used to attract traffic from the motorway network to travel along the A49 and nothing to do with improving the City Centre congestion http://www.hereforhereford.co.uk/2017/01/watch-out-the-a49-proposed-as-an-alternative-for-m5-traffic/ . This seems to agree with what someone in the Cabinet has been saying.

With Cllr price & so many other councillors entitled to free bus travel, why do we pay them travel expenses to meetings in Hereford? I think requiring councillors to use public transport might make some of them wake up and realise what life can be like for so many of our young, old and disabled people to get around when they cut bus services and yet spend millions on new roads. It would also save us all alot of money in expense claims and they might even get to meet ordinary local people who value and rely on local services. Instead they seem determined to spend millions more on roads for the Nation whilst cutting buses.

If the Council have no idea of the impact of traffic on the A49 by promoting it as an alternative to the Motorway network, then they shouldnt be doing it! I worry when relatives are travelling on the A road network as it is much more dangerous than the motorways for accidents, and alot more deaths happen on these unlit rural A roads. This seems to be the Council trying to justify their pet project the "Hereford Bypass" when there are no reasons or evidence to support their claims for this road. Suggesting that the A49 could be an alternative to the M5/M6 will be a nightmare for all those people living in the villages north and south of Hereford, such as Much Birch, Wellington, Moreton -on-Lugg, etc. I wonder what our local MPs think of this approach and whether they are supporting the Council's bid for funding on this basis? 

This week with the schools broken up, despite Christmas shoppers the roads in and out of Hereford in the mornings have been pretty clear of traffic. Why cant the Council improve the bus services for our young people to travel to and from school and college?

Likewise I cycle most places now as it saves me alot of money on car related costs and I don't have to pay car parking costs or bus fares and I dont have to wait for a bus. 

I think this just goes to show that whether the Council have their finance officer or not, they cannot be trusted with OUR money and assets. Why can so many other Council's run their small holding estates to generate a regular income year after year, but our Council cannot turn a profit?

If compared to other local council's they are so rubbish at running what is quite a small Council, then perhaps they shouldn't be in charge. The people who should leave are not the small holding tenants but this incompetent Cabinet who cannot run an agricultural estate profitably. When this Capital money has all gone, what will these Councillors then do for money? It sounds more like they will be leaving a note saying "if you are looking for the money - it is all gone"! This estate was built up over many years to benefit future generations and this Cabinet has squandered everything of value in our County in very few years and left nothing for this generation, let alone those who follow us. As a taxpayer I am so sorry for the tenant farmers facing eviction - none of it is being done in  my name.

Thanks for this Denise and for the link which makes very interesting reading. The link to the minutes of a meeting with the Dept for Transport is very different from what the Council have been telling local people. I see that in the link it says that the Council have to complete their FBC (I think this is a full business case) by October 2016 as approval has to be before Christmas 2016. The FBC needs to be signed off by a S151 officer - so will the interim S151 officer be available to sign this off in the absence of anyone permanent in the post. I heard that the Council have got to find £8million to fund this project - where is that coming from?

I have heard that there is going to be a demonstration outside the Shirehall 1pm tomorrow 20th October as Herefordshire Council, just a week after approving cuts to our library services is agreeing to spend £1million on purchasing the land that the Southern Link Road will go through. A friend of mine thinks she will be affected. What she is also concerned about is that the Council might be looking to buy more land under compulsory powers than the Southern Link Road goes through. How can the Council Compulsorily purchase land that the road doesn't directly affect? 

I thought the Southern link Road was a lot longer than the new Link road they are building in Hereford. I understand that buying land for the City Link road has already cost over £7million so how come the land the Council are buying in South Wye will cost just £1million? 

As I have said this Council are looking to make the traffic worse in Hereford. My friend tells me it is because the Council are about to launch a consultation on the "bypass" in late October. This at the same time they are cutting library services and recognising that people who want to use libraries will need to travel into Hereford, probably by car, as public transport will also be cut. Am I the only one who can see no joint working across Herefordshire to improve things for the average County taxpayer? There is certainly no effort at joined up thinking. If library services are being cut and centralised mainly in Hereford then transport into the City Centre from the villages needs to be improved not cut. The elderly, young people and disabled all need public transport as many don't drive cars or have access to one. I wish this Cabinet would try and get around without their big cars and Council fuel allowances and start providing transport that everyone can use. 

Off course traffic will get worse - that is what Herefordshire Council have been trying to do for years!

If they solved the traffic congestion then they wouldn't be able to justify spending so much money on building brand new roads. Councillors like cutting ribbons on brand new roads with a nice photo opportunity. Perhaps they just like cutting - e.g. bus services, social services, library services, etc. I expect there will be Cllr Johnson and his merry men to cut a ribbon on the new "Link Road" though where it is going to and from is beyond me. I was hoping we were going to get a new transport hub so buses would drop people off/pick up at the railway station. 

I dont understand this as I thought the Council had millions of pounds what with all the new houses going to be built in the Centre of Hereford as an urban village as well as all these new roads being built and the Council kindly paying to have asbestos removed from Elgar House for a private landlord, etc. I was in High Town yesterday and there was a display of all the other wonderful new things they are going to do in the future. My friend showed me this link http://councillors.herefordshire.gov.uk/documents/s50040614/Appendix%201%20-%20fin%20-%20ECONOMIC%20MASTER%20PLAN%20HFD1690%20V3.pdf (It is a very big file but some lovely dreamy pictures of the River Wye in Hereford). This plan has a whole list of amazing things the Council are going to be doing over the next 10 years -such as spend hundreds of millions on a bypass; 3 new University buildings; building on the banks of the River Wye; building a new rowing club and "water park"; multi storey car parks on every road coming into Hereford. It is amazing how much money they seem to have, and yet apparently they cant keep our libraries open like they used to and bus services are likely to be cut.

I heard this proposal a number of years ago from a Conservative Councillor saying it would be a good idea to have a medical service in the ESG area, but I thought then it was a daft idea as Doctors surgeries are best placed amongst large areas of housing. I think this is being proposed in the Three Elms development - a large new purpose built surgery in the middle of 1500 new homes. Why have a large surgery in the middle of of the City where there is little or no parking but hundreds of traffic lights. Are they trying to make congestion in that area even worse than it currently is, with people driving in and out for their appointments every 10 minutes. 

I enjoy cycling the Great Western Way and the access to this large car park seems to go across the new cycle route which then links to the lighted crossing point to go up to Holmer. Surely this site would be better used as social or older people's housing as then there might be enough people to use a pub in the area and it is easy walking into Hereford. Why build a new one when the Heart of Oak has recently closed, and the area has another pub along Grandstand road (well I think it is a pub I have never ventured in there!). 

at least the top one looks like a modern building, the second "red shed" looks more like a cheaply designed primary school

The red building looks very similar to those rusty "portacabin" style buildings installed at the Robert Owen School in Black Friars street (really the old Boys High School). Does no one in this Council have any understanding how good buildings can lift your spirits and bad buildings spoil and detract from an area?

I thought with the reduction in staff, especially with Mr Robinson gone, that there would be plenty of space at Plough Lane - which would be much more convenient for a customer hub if there was a tram service along Great Western Way.

Hoople dont need the entire top floor of Plough Lane and could go next to their employment office in the Franklin Barnes Building.

That way Council staff would be closer together, apart from the departments moving up to that massive building Elgar House at the top of Holmer Road and all the Hoople staff would be together.