Hereford Voice

Rogue company and director fined for deceiving 87 year old Herefordshire resident with unnecessary roofing repairs A rogue company and director, which preyed on elderly residents in Herefordshire, has received fines for ‘unfair trading’ in a case taken to Hereford Magistrates Court, concluding on Friday 27 April 2018. GER (Southern) Ltd and its director Martin Hancox, 43, from Bournemouth, pleaded guilty to unfair trading charges following a case taken to Hereford Magistrates Court by Herefordshire Council’s Trading Standards team. GER (Southern) Ltd and Hancox received fines and costs totalling £20,343. The company used databases to cold call elderly residents, and one victim was an 87 year old gentleman from Bartestree, Hereford. In 2014, the gentleman was mis-sold spray foam insulation work at the inflated cost of £5,000. A further unsolicited phone call followed in June 2017, where the gentleman was coerced into agreeing to an appointment where he was falsely told that moss on his roof had caused a leak. Eventually he was deceived into agreeing to further work to the value of £3,200, when in fact the work was unnecessary and worthless. Director Martin Hancox stated to the court that he was unaware of the incident and it was the actions of rogue staff in his company that led to the offences, but as director he felt he had to take responsibility. Marc Willimont, Herefordshire Council’s Head of Regulatory and Development Management Services, said: “The way that vulnerable elderly home owners are sold roof and wall coatings is a scam - this case is just one in a series of rogue trader prosecutions our Trading Standards team have recently pursued. This particular case demonstrates the aggressive sales technique and price inflation that rogue companies use to scam our residents into agreeing to unnecessary or poor quality work. “GER (Southern) Ltd are one of a string of companies that target the elderly for unnecessary spray foam insulation. To make matters worse, this company returned to a previous victim to deceive them for a second time. “We want family, friends and neighbours to remain vigilant in protecting elderly residents who are often the target of such scams. I would urge people to never respond to unsolicited telephone calls, mail shots, text messages or door-to-door selling. By responding to this unsolicited contact, victims are likely to be put onto a mailing list and have their information sold to other scammers.” There is further advice on being scam aware at www.herefordshire.gov.uk/scams and those who believe they have been affected by rogue trading can call Herefordshire Trading Standards on 01432 261761.

Planning has been refused after concerns over lack of parking and noise affecting nearby residential homes.

Glad they someone has listened to our complaints about our Historic City Walls, and now this clean up group is cleaning the railings along the Belmont Road and while this is a fantastic group doing brilliant things in out city, I do think we need to look at 'prevention rather than cure'.

This is good news all round for this area. (I have added a photo of the former Jail)

Healthwatch Herefordshire – the local health champion for health and social care has launched a new online engagement tool called The Feedback Centre, created by Midlands based software specialist Ekko, to help people in Herefordshire share their experiences about local health and care services. Healthwatch Herefordshire’s job is to ensure that the voice of patients, carers and service users is at the heart of improving health and social care services. Healthwatch gathers the views of the public views and represents those views to local organisations and makes sure they are taken account of. The new online Feedback Centre will strengthen the voice of people in Herefordshire. It is accessible on a variety of devices including mobile phones, desktop PCs and tablets, just by going to the Healthwatch Herefordshire website. People will be able to easily rate and share experiences of services in an engaging and simple way from wherever they are and receive responses from providers. Healthwatch Herefordshire believes that by helping patients and service users to easily express their views we can gather more feedback to improve health and social care services. Christine Price, Chief Officer of Healthwatch Herefordshire, said: ‘The Feedback Centre tool will support our engagement plans. We have much to be proud of with the health and social care services of Herefordshire that people use every day, we should recognise and celebrate this. But sometimes things go wrong and need improving, so the voice of our community must be heard to help get things right.’ ‘Healthwatch Herefordshire’s aim is to make sure that the patient voice comes through loud and clear to the professionals who plan and deliver our local health and social care services. That is why we have developed a simple yet powerful system that is accessible to the widest possible group of people from wherever they are.’ ‘Millions of people every day use online review systems to give their opinion about other services or products they have bought or used. We want to harness that behaviour to get patients, service users and their families to give us vital information about the health and social care. As an independent organisation, Healthwatch Herefordshire hopes to gain the trust of the public to tell us their full experiences of local services: the excellent and the good, as well as where things need to improve. We hope that by creating a familiar tool that we will be able to engage many more people in celebrating and improving health and social care here in Herefordshire.’ All reviews are vetted before appearing online to ensure an honest representation of each service provider is given, and service providers can submit a response to each review if they wish. Healthwatch will work with health and social care providers to create a transparent online forum and culture of using customer feedback to improve services and celebrate good services. It is hoped providers will also signpost patients to the feedback centre and post the feedback centre widget on their websites, to encourage openness and transparency. Healthwatch will distribute a freepost card feedback options to local services over the coming weeks for those people who aren’t able to access online. We will continue to offer our service on the telephone, social media, visiting groups around the county and go to events where we can talk to people face to face and listen to their views. Make a difference today and rate and review your latest health or social care experience go to Healthwatch Herefordshire

I never really understood WHY the Herdsman's planning application for a nice new sign on their wall was refused yet all of this lot is acceptable...

Plans have been submitted for a Drive-Thru McDonalds in Leominster. The proposal for the erection of two storey restaurant with drive-thru, car parking, landscaping, play place and associated works. Installation of2 No. COD (Customer Order Display) with associated canopies on the land at Morrisons car park Baron's Cross Road Leominster. Planning Number P181448/F

Just came across this article on BBC Hereford and Worcester again, so grabbed a screenshot. We noticed only the other day that these signs have not been cleaned since and some of the ones featured above will need a clean again, we have identified quite a few locally that need cleaning so that is another project we will be working on over the coming weeks. Please posts you pictures if you manage to clean any signs.

Well I was going to run a topic on this, I took a load of photographs only last week showing the amount of adverts on the Len Weston stand backing onto Edgar St, I am surprised that nobody has complained.

A market of international traders selling top quality artisan-produced foods and craft products from around the world will visit Hereford in April. Flavours of the World, made up of 20-30 carefully selected stalls, will be in Hereford High Town, Friday 27 – Sunday 29 April, 9am – 5.30pm. Touring different themed markets in the UK annually for over a decade, Savoir Fayre’s latest market, Flavours of the World is crafted to stir the senses and appeal to locals and tourists alike. The organisers have worked hard to create an international atmosphere so people can enjoy exotic flavours and unusual aromas and delight in products they might not otherwise see or buy every day. The range for Hereford includes stalls selling Italian sweets and biscuits and delicate nougats; unusual cheeses not easily found in the UK which reflect the cultural and culinary traditions of rural France, and a stall which sells cured meats and scrumptious rustic saucisson sourced from every corner of Europe. There are also specialist stalls offering an unrivalled choice of ground coffee and mustards. Beyond the stalls that tempt the taste buds, the market has traders who showcase the beauty of international craft traditions. They include bowls and ornaments carved from Moroccan marble; Baltic amber set into handcrafted jewellery; finely woven Italian clothing; and rugs and throws from Morocco and Turkey. One stall sells an astonishing 60 varieties of beauty bars and natural soaps derived from olive and argan oil. Councillor Barry Durkin, Herefordshire Council Cabinet Member for Transport and Regulatory Services, said:

Herefordshire Council has completed the lease of Edgar Street stadium to Hereford FC. The ten year lease will secure the club’s tenancy at the Edgar Street stadium until 2030, enabling the club to proceed with plans to return the ground to a four-sided stadium. Left to right Ken Kinnersley and Council Harry Bramer The wider area has undergone substantial redevelopment in the last four years, with the opening of the Old Market shopping development in 2014 and the construction of the City Link Road in 2017. The proposed ‘Urban Village’ project, part of the Hereford 2020 Edgar Street regeneration, could potentially mean joint investment from Herefordshire Council and Hereford FC for a new stand and facilities at the Blackfriars Street side of the stadium, with the opportunity for nearby retail outlets. Councillor Harry Bramer, Herefordshire Council Cabinet Member for Contracts and Assets, said: Hereford FC Chairman Ken Kinnersley said: