Hereford Voice

Earthquake with a magnitude of 5.0 hits parts of England and Wales this afternoon. The British Geological Survey has confirmed the tremor, saying it was "reasonably sized."

We ran a competition in January 2018 in partnership with 'The Beefy Boys' and the statistics speak for themselves. The competition reached almost 56,000 people, with 575 likes and over 1,150 shares!

Hereford Bypass proposed routes and river crossings video in full HD showing the proposed western bypass. It is suggested that the bypass will include 6,500 new houses, 6,000 jobs, a new university and the expansion of the Hereford Enterprise Zone at Rotherwas. The bypass will also include improving air quality, reducing HGV's vehicles travelling through the city, thus reducing congestion, encouraging walking, cycling, bus use and improving public space, reducing maintenance costs and improving safety on the A49. The video also claims that once complete the bypass will reduce morning peak hour traffic on the A49 northbound by eight minutes and five minutes southbound. The council has released a budget estimate with the most costly route listed as The Black 2 route at £135m to £140m. This is a preliminary estimate for the project. The consultation exhibition is at Hereford library until March 20.

New Safety (speed) camera currently being installed on the A465 opposite the Three Counties Hotel Belmont Road) Hereford. This is been in discussion for sometime so no real surprises here however, the traffic queues along this part of Hereford are constant so we do not envisage high earnings to come from this one... Your thoughts?

A woman was taken to hospital and a child received minor injuries following an accident at the junction on Widemarsh Street along the new city link road yesterday evening at 5.50pm (Sunday) Photo courtesy of OPU Herefordshire

RAIDS to discover illegal tobacco were carried out at two shops in Hereford and one in Ross-on-Wye and led to 21,000 cigarettes being seized. On Tuesday around 20 officers from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), with support from West Mercia Police, Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service and Herefordshire Council visited three shops. At International Food in Commercial Road, Hereford, officers discovered cigarettes inside a hidden compartment that was fitted with an electro-magnetic lock and operated by a key fob. When the fob is pressed, the electromagnet is switched off and the inside of the wall slides out on runners. Raids were also carried out at Europe Quality Food in Brookend Street in Ross and Zabka in Eign Gate in Hereford. Across the three shops there were 21,000 cigarettes seized as well as 8.7 kilos of hand-rolling tobacco, which are suspected to be illegal. In addition, £1,600 was seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Sergeant Duncan Reynolds, of West Mercia Police, said: "We are continually building up our intelligence picture to identify those individuals and businesses who are operating outside of the law and a number of future enforcement operations are planned." A tobacco dog and their handler helped officers uncover cigarettes hidden in various parts of the shops. Herefordshire Council’s principal Trading Standards officer, Tim Thorne, said: “We will continue to work with partner agencies to tackle serious criminals and protect honest local business and consumers." All three shop owners were interviewed by HMRC officers and investigations are ongoing. Richard Young, assistant director of the Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “Disrupting criminal trade is at the heart of our strategy to clampdown on the illicit tobacco market, which costs the UK around £2.5 billion a year." He added: "We encourage anyone with information about the illegal sale of tobacco to contact our fraud hotline on 0800 788 887 or report it online." Information about any type of tax fraud can be reported to HMRC online at www.gov.uk/report-an-unregistered-trader-or-business.

Man charged with Hereford murder A 22-year-old man from the West Midlands has been charged with the murder of Robert Eacock, who died in hospital in Hereford on Monday night. Anthony Boyd from Willenhall in the West Midlands was charged late last night (1 February). He remains in police custody and will appear at Hereford Magistrate's Court today (2 February). Mr Eacock died in hospital on Monday night (29 January), after being stabbed during an incident on Hereford's Commercial Street at around noon that day.

Normally we hear of pubs closing down, so this makes for a refreshing change.

Planning permission was refused for a Costa Coffee to be located on a Retail Park on Holmer Road Hereford with concerns over lack of parking. Full details of decision below:

I heard this earlier and thought it was a joke

Fraudsters target residents across Warwickshire and West Mercia Officers from Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police have received eight reports of attempted frauds, which have targeted residents across three counties. Working in conjunction with Action Fraud - the UK's national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre - we are now investigating reports of two incidents in Warwickshire, five in Herefordshire, and one in Shropshire. All were reported to us on 25 January. In one incident in Rugby, a woman received a phone call from a man claiming to be a police officer from 'the serious fraud office in Westminster'. The caller asked the woman to provide her bank details and to withdraw £5,000 from an ATM. The woman refused. In an incident in Wrexham, Shropshire, a woman received a phone call from a man claiming to be a police officer at Hammersmith Police Station in London. He said that two people had been arrested using bank cards with her details on, and he needed her home address to continue his policing work. When the woman refused, the caller threatened to have her arrested for perverting the course of justice. The woman did not reveal her personal or financial details. In five of the incidents, people were phoned by someone pretending to be from HM Revenue and Customs. The caller then stated that the people owed money, which could be paid in some sort of voucher (these turned out to be music or games vouchers). In three of these incidents the caller said that a courier would visit to collect the vouchers. Detective Sergeant Paul Bent from the Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police Economic Crime Unit said: Trust your instincts: if a phone call, text or email seems dodgy it probably is. To report fraud or a suspicious incident like the ones above, phone Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or visit www.actionfraud.police.uk. For more advice on how to spot fraud, visit the Take Five website takefive-stopfraud.org.uk. Take Five is a national campaign that offers straightforward advice on avoiding preventable financial fraud. It's led by Financial Fraud Action UK (part of UK Finance) and backed by the UK government.

Plans have been submitted for proposed hair salon (A1 use) that will occupy 30% of the building withan education and training centre (D3 use) for students of hairdressing to take up the remainder of the premises in the former Möben shop in Commercial Street Hereford. Planning application P174605/F Hopefully if these plans are passed it will encourage other businesses back to this forgotten area of our city. The only negative here is that the rates are higher than the rent!

The mighty Wye peaking now at Bredwardine. Several roads affected in area. Take care if travelling and obey Road closed signs. A lot of fast flowing water on A438 Leyton Herefordshire Road 'closed signs' in place but many motorists are ignoring. Lugg east of Hereford very high. Just spilling onto floodplain now Flood defences doing what they're designed for and keeping the city dry. Remarkable experience walking alongside - water waist height on wet side! Photographs courtesy of Dave Throup - Environment Agency

Peterstow Village Stores (Near Ross on Wye) Plans have been submitted for the proposed demolition of existing shop premises with post office and provision of new shop, post office with accommodation over. New driveway road with two semi detached affordable houses and two detached houses. Planning Application P174522/F

New Volunteer Pub for Marden plans approved. Plans have been approved for the demolition and clearance of the existing public house ('The Volunteer Inn') and erection of new family public house with rooms to include 8 bedrooms. Customer car park and relocated vehicular and pedestrian access. Planning Application P163159/F

The river Wye in Hereford is very high with flooding already along the river path with no access to the Old Bridge. This photograph was taken at 0800 this morning. The river is expected to peak this evening.

Darren Gibbons is leading the 12 in 12 challenge for St Michael's A growing band of Hospice supporters are gearing up for a busy year after agreeing to complete 12 runs in as many months. The ‘Runathon 12 in 12’ challenge is being led by Darren Gibbons who will attempt a world record at one of the events when he aims to complete the Swansea Half Marathon in record time while blindfolded. He hopes the ‘12 in 12’ idea will raise around £5,000 for St Michael’s Hospice. Darren knows all about the work of St Michael’s as his mother-in-law sadly died at the Hospice a few years ago. ‘I’m really looking forward to the Runathon 12 in 12,’ he said. ‘It’s great that so many people are on board, and I’m grateful and proud of them all. ‘Hopefully it will be a year to remember, and one which sees us raise around £5,000 for St Michael’s Hospice.’ So far, 15 fundraisers have signed up for the 12 in 12 challenge. Those taking part can choose whichever events they would like to complete, but they are all planning to enter the Hospice-led RUN Hereford in May, which features a Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K and 5K. The team have signed up to a variety of runs including 10k’s, Half Marathons and Marathons, with Darren’s world record attempt taking place in June. To sponsor the 12 in 12 team, visit https://www.justgiving.com/companyteams/Runathon12in12 To join the 12 in 12 Team, visit their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/12in12runathon

Photographs courtesy of OPU Hereford

Multi emergency services called out to reports of a vehicle in river Dore next to B4347 near Pontrilas. Emergency crews from West Mercia Police, firefighters from Ewyas Harold, Hereford, Ross, and Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service rushed to the scene. No persons were found in the vehicle. The driver was later located at home safe and well by West Mercia Police and it turns out that the driver had not reported the accident, which had happened overnight...

POP stars Peter Andre and Midge will be performing at an all day concert at Hereford FC's Edgar Street ground this May! The line up for the Hereford FC Live concert that will take place at Edgar Street on 12th May has been confirmed! Peter Andre Midge Ure Five The Real Thing N-Trance Cheeky Girls American Four Tops The concert will kick off at midday and run until 11pm. General admission adult tickets are £35 plus booking fee 10years and under – £10 plus booking fee Children 2 years and under go free of charge Peter Andre: Peter Andre is an English-born Australian singer, songwriter. He gained popularity as a singer, best known for his successful singles “Mysterious Girl” and “Flava”. He is also known for appearing on the third series of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, and the thirteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing. The song “Mysterious Girl” reached the top of the charts in New Zealand and number eight in Australia, and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Midge Ure: Midge Ure enjoyed success in the 1970s and ’80s in bands including Slik, Thin Lizzy, Rich Kids and Visage, and most notably as frontman of Ultravox, where he scored international hits like “Vienna” and “Dancing with Tears in My Eyes”. He is also known for being co-writer of the enduring charity single, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”. The ex-Ultravox singer wore a kilt for the occasion at Buckingham Palace. Ure was awarded his OBE for both his music and charity work. Five: Five are an English boy band from London. They were formed in 1997 by the same team that managed the Spice Girls before they launched their career. Sold a minimum of 1.6 million copies of their albums and 2.4 million copies of their singles in the UK alone. The band subsequently were signed by Simon Cowell and BMG/RCA for a six-album deal. In November 1997, Five released their debut single “Slam Dunk (Da Funk)“, which debuted at number 10 in the UK Singles Chart. The Real Thing: The Real Thing are a British soul group formed in the 1970s. In addition to a string of British hits, the band charted internationally with their song “You to Me Are Everything“, which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. By number of sales, they were the most successful rock/soul act in England during the 1970s. N-Trance: N-Trance are a British electronic music group who were formed by Kevin O’Toole and Dale Longworth in 1991. The group has sold over 5 million records worldwide and some of their hit singles include “Set You Free“, “Forever”, as well as covers of the popular 1970s disco songs “Stayin’ Alive“, “D.I.S.C.O.” and “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?“. Cheeky Girls: The Cheeky Girls are a Romanian-born British-based pop duo consisting of twin sisters Gabriela and Monica Irimia. They achieved success in the charts with four top 10 hits between 2002 and 2004. They are best known for their debut single, “Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum)“, which has sold more than 1.2 million copies worldwide. American Four Tops: This phenomenal quartet are keeping the legendary Four Tops music alive worldwide. They’ll take you through the hits – Reach Out, Baby I Need Your Loving, I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie), Standing in the Shadow, Bernadette, Walk Away Renee, Loco in Acapulco and plenty more from Platters, The Stylistics and the Temptations. With their high stepping choreography and the original harmonies from that era; the show is explosive. The group have toured extensively and are particularly well known in Germany, Holland, Belgium, Spain and Ireland. You can purchase your tickets HERE

Thank you for the info earlier Doug, we posted the information on our Facebook Page too. This is good news and nice to know that the new company will honour previous memberships/vouchers.

On Monday 29th January, 5.30 - 7pm Hereford BID members are invited to attend a parking meeting to discuss/ reflect and hear about the parking situation in Hereford. Many businesses have been touched by the changes made to waiting times/ meters introduced whilst both publicly and behind the scenes HBID have been constantly working on your behalf to ensure your views are heard and that we have a parking system that attracts visitors and shoppers. For more information and to download the monthly parking vouchers go here feel free to sign our petition here