Hereford Voice

I took these photographs at 19.30 in Hereford this evening and as you can see the road conditions are pretty bad. This snow is like a powder and the wind is causing blizzard type conditions add this to the current -4 temperature and this is the result. The forecast is that it is only going to get worse overnight.

School Closures for tomorrow (Friday 2nd March) Ashfield Park Primary Ashperton Primary Aylestone High Barrs Court Barrs Court Hub Bishop of Hereford Bluecoat Blackmarston School Bosbury CE Primary Brampton Abbotts CE Primary Bredenbury Primary School Bridstow CE Primary Broadlands Primary Brockhampton Primary Brookfield School Burghill Community Academy Burley Gate CE Primary Canon Pyon CE Academy Clehonger CE Primary Clifford Primary Colwall CE Primary Eardisley CE Primary Earl Mortimer College Ewyas Harold Primary Fairfield High Garway School and the Preschool Goodrich Primary School Hampton Dene Primary Holmer CE Academy Ivington Primary John Kyrle John Masefield High Kings Caple Academy Kingstone High School Kingstone Primary Kington Primary Lea CE Primary and the Preschool Leintwardine Primary Leominster Primary Little Dewchurch Primary Llangrove CE Academy Longtown Primary Lord Scudamore Lucton School Lugwardine Primary Luston Primary Marden Primary Marlbrook Primary Michaelchurch Escley Primary Mordiford Primary Much Birch Primary Orleton CE Primary Pembridge CE Primary Pencombe CE Primary Peterchurch Primary Queen Elizabeth Bromyard Riverside Primary School Shobdon Primary St Francis Xavier St James CE Primary St Joseph's RC Primary and the Nursery St Martin's Primary School St Mary's CE Primary Credenhill St Mary's Fownhope St Mary's RC High St Michael's Primary St Paul's CE Primary St Peter's Bromyard St Thomas Cantilupe St Weonards Primary Staunton on Wye Primary School Stretton Sugwas Academy Sutton Primary Stoke Prior School Trinity Primary Walford Primary Wellington Primary School Weobley High Weobley Primary Westfield School Weston Under Penyard Primary Whitchurch CE Primary Wigmore Primary Wigmore High Withington Primary Whitecross High Full details, updates and travel news can be found at Herefordshire.gov.uk

As you can imagine this does take up a lot of resources on our server that said, it should be the same as it has always been however, we have today increased this to 4MB.

Herefordshire 4x4 Response is an organisation made up entirely of volunteers. In times of bad weather we assist the NHS, Fire & Rescue, Police and Search & Rescue teams. Our volunteers transport essential NHS Staff, Nurses, Doctors, Paramedics as well as essential medical supplies. If you work for the NHS, Police, Fire Service, Care Homes and even Meals on Wheels, and require transport during the snow please get in touch with the the Herefordshire Council Resilience Team on 01432 260223 and they will arrange for our team to be deployed. (Unfortunately we can not accept assistance requests from the public directly.) To find out how you can help please visit: Herefordshire 4x4 Response or their Facebook page

Only in Hereford, excessive speed cameras...

Italian restaurant chain Prezzo is preparing to close around 100 of its 300 stores in an attempt to rescue the business. The chain - which is owned by private equity firm TPG Capital - employs around 4,500 people. Prezzo is also expected to completely close its TexMex chain Chimichanga, which has 33 restaurants in the UK. The closures would form part of a deal to renegotiate debts owed by the company to its landlords. Specialist restructuring firm AlixPartners is understood to be drafting a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) - a step short of going into administration - on the company's behalf. The CVA would allow Prezzo to continue trading without being pursued for the money it owes. We are not sure at this time if the Prezzo restaurant in the Old Market Hereford is listed to close although we understand that Chimichanga will be closing.

We have today created a NEW - Hereford Voice Projects forum. This is a sub forum of the Open Forum. Over many years Hereford Voice have kick-started various campaigns and initiated local projects as well as being actively involved in community events. This forum highlights and promotes the discussion of all of these activities and will lay the foundations for future Hereford Voice Projects in Hereford. This new sub forum is where all topics and discussions about previous/future projects and campaigns will reside (all in one place). We have also created a new 'Tag' called simply 'Hereford Voice Projects'

We have today added a new colour theme to the website as part of our overall upgrade. You can pick your preferred background colour by clicking on the icon on your profile bar that looks like a little mountain, from here you can select your colour choice. Alternatively, you an always just use the standard default theme by selecting it from the 'Theme' dropdown box at the bottom of the page. We are hoping to add additional themes as and when finances allow.

Severe Weather Warning. Herefordshire Council is preparing to keep the county moving as the ‘Beast from the East’ moves in. The council’s public realm contractor, Balfour Beatty Living Places, is continuing to monitor conditions around-the-clock to ensure the county’s 14 priority routes are kept clear during extreme weather conditions. In preparation, over the past 24 hours, the Balfour Beatty Living Places team has gritted over 1,000 miles of road. This includes 600 miles of priority routes and over 400 miles of secondary routes. The county’s salt barns are fully stocked with 4,800 tonnes of salt available to the 30-strong gritting team, which operates 16 frontline gritting vehicles, four snow blowers and two quad bikes. Balfour Beatty Living Places contract director, Andy Williams, said: Councillor Barry Durkin, Herefordshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport, Roads and Regulatory Services, added: Precautionary salting normally takes place in the early morning or evening but additional action may be required during extreme weather. You can find the latest gritting route information on Twitter @HfdsStreets The latest information about Herefordshire Council services affected by severe weather, such as road and school closures, can be found at www.herefordshire.gov.uk/severeweather