megilleland

Who is going to look after you in future?

Following the Kate Garaway documentaries about caring for her late husband and the publicity generated concerning unpaid carers it indeed highlights the problems we will all have to face up to in our own lifetimes.

Reading the comments section (246 comments) in The Guardian today, many unpaid carers have voiced their own particular problems in caring for loved ones and the bureaucracy they have to factor into their own lives. An interesting read for all those affected as unpaid carers.

Regarding the NHS and Social Care are the politicians concerned that 5-10 million unpaid voters could be a formidible force in any upcoming election?

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/27/the-guardian-view-on-unpaid-care-time-to-heed-kate-and-dereks-story

More murals here:

Ten of the most beautiful graffiti murals in the world from 2023
Street Art Cities, a platform born in 2016 to document the best urban art in the world, has selected the 50 best works with help from a jury of experts. Eight of the top 10 artworks are located in Spain

https://english.elpais.com/travel/2024-03-16/ten-of-the-most-beautiful-graffiti-murals-in-the-world-from-2023.html
 

This application relates to the Tesco premises in Belmont, lying on the south-western
fringes of Hereford. It seeks planning permission for a temporary storage container to
be sited each year from November to January. It is proposed that it be located on land
within the delivery yard to the north-west of the superstore, which is accessed from
Abbotsmead Road. It would have an area of 28sqm, stand 2.7m tall and comprise the
appearance of a shipping container albeit be internally fitted out as a refrigeration unit.
A previous application (073649/F), for the installation of two temporary refrigerated
storage units, was refused on the grounds of highway safety.

Relevant Site History: 073649/F - Installation of two temporary refrigerated storage
units – Refused on 21st December 2007

This was refused

DELEGATED DECISION REPORT
APPLICATION NUMBER 214561
Tesco Supermarket, Abbots Mead Road, Belmont, Hereford, HR2 7XS

Transportation –
No highways objections – no conditions required

Environmental Health Officer –
I would advise that over the years we have had numerous complaints from local
residents about noise caused by various sources at this supermarket. This premises
is in a very sensitive location being located at very close proximity to residential
development. The positioning of these temporary refrigeration units provides another
possible source for the generation of unacceptable noise whilst they are in position. I
note from neighbour representations that this has been raised as a concern and I
would concur with this view. There is no mention in the application as to what level of
noise will be generated or as to how any unacceptable levels will be mitigated. I would
therefore recommend that this application is refused unless an acoustic survey is
provided that demonstrates what level of noise will be produced and if this level is
unacceptable what mitigation measures will be put in place to ensure that noise from
them will be adequately controlled. I would recommend that the acoustic survey uses
the methodology provided by BS 4142:2014 Methods for Rating and Assessing
Industrial and Commercial Noise (as amended A1:2019), however it should also
specifically consider low frequency noise and vibration.

_________________________________________________

If Tesco couldn't put two temporary containers on their site, I can't see how the council can approve a 
large supermarket.
 

33 minutes ago, megilleland said:

Learn from history.

https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/info/200142/planning_services/planning_application_search/details?id=131390&search-term=Keepmoat#tab1

Community Hub at the Oval Hereford Herefordshire
Thursday 15 August 2013Number    P131390/O

Current status - Determination Made
Decision - Approved with Conditions
Type - Outline

https://myaccount.herefordshire.gov.uk/documents?id=1f008b1f-ddb9-11e2-ac40-0050569f00ad

Another dead duck!
 

I thought that the meeting was going to reject or defer the application. How wrong. Another community asset swept under the carpets of the boardrooms of the council and Lidl. Common sense doesn't prevail again. Add the demolition of the Three Counties to the Vortex, St Francis Church, Belmont Inn and what about the provision of a promised community centre following the Oval housing improvement. It's just a dream.

2 hours ago, megilleland said:

Yes it needs to be built on the other side of town where the council want to build hundreds of houses, otherwise these future residents will have to travel into the centre of town or use Haywood Lane as a rat run to join tha A465 at Ruckhall adding to the congestion along Belmont Road. Where's the common sense in this application?

You can watch this council meeting live here:

On 11/03/2024 at 18:52, Mick said:

This will be passed, it is so controversial the Herefordshire Council planners are daft enough to allow this building to be demolished in favour of big corporates. 

Yes it needs to be built on the other side of town where the council want to build hundreds of houses, otherwise these future residents will have to travel into the centre of town or use Haywood Lane as a rat run to join tha A465 at Ruckhall adding to the congestion along Belmont Road. Where's the common sense in this application?

The demolition of a perfectly good building serving the local community is a pure act of corporate vandalism. Downgrading the environment, increasing traffic flow with the related pollution problems and potential accidents and loss of amenities for affected residents. There are adequate supermarket facilities next to the  application site and futher facilities for local shopping at The Oval and along Belmont Road. The encroachment of the workings of the site for those living next door ie noise from constant shopping traffic and delivery vehicles, light pollution from the car park at night will bring a lower quality of life.

If the hotel does close, without proper investigation as to the opportunity for new proprietors to take over, then the Council should consider the benefits for the local community of the building being utilised for alternative uses. The council is I believe looking to finance a new care home. This building has 60 bedrooms and with relocating the doctors surgery and possible the pharmacy with the addition of a dentist and other medical facilities onto this central site, better use will ensue for local residents in some of the most deprived areas of Hereford. If the medical and health facilities were transferred to this site and building, the vacated units at Eastholm Avenue could become a small business hub.

Should this application be approved the Planning Committee will have done a great disservice to the local area and its residents and therefore the Planning Committee should reject this application.

Had a good morning out last Thursday with the Hereford Walking Group. Meet at Drybridge House Day Centre every Thursday 10.30am to 12.30pm. Stay for refreshments (suggested £1 donation!) Good company walking and chatting along river to The Waterworks at Broomy Hill (open Tuesdays 11am to 4pm) and back to Drybridge House for warm bowl of soup and cup of tea/coffee. Worth calling in as other activities are being organised througout the week. Working in partnership with Herefordshire & Worcestershire Age UK.

An excellent illustrated talk about the history and use of the apple throughout the world. Apples & People explores the astonishing story of the apple through forty-six Apple Stories. Connecting its diverse history to humanity and culture. Based upon a specially commissioned Apple World Map which traces the network of stories from the ancient world to the present day. This online programme and associated social media reveals just how significant and iconic this humble fruit has become.

https://applesandpeople.org.uk/

Thursday 18th January 2024 - 7pm - 9pm
at the Kindle Centre (talk starts at 7.30pm) when our speaker is Dr David Marshall (Associate, the Brightspace Foundation), speaking on

"Apples and People”
The global story of the apple, illustrated with art from collections around the world.

Sorry it's short notice.

Sorry Adrian approving this would be a great mistake just to save a few pennies on your shopping. My objection to development lodged first time round - copy herewith:

P221090/O
Hybrid application for demolition of existing hotel and associated structures and erection of Class E foodstore with associated access, parking, servicing, drainage and landscaping (full permission sought) and erection of drive-thru unit with associated internal access and circulation (outline permission sought).

I wish to strongly object to the hybrid application P221090/O for demolition of existing hotel and associated structures and erection of Class E foodstore with associated access, parking, servicing, drainage and landscaping (full permission sought) and erection of drive-thru unit with associated internal access and circulation (outline permission sought).

The demolition of a perfectly good building serving the local community is a pure act of corporate vandalism. Downgrading the environment, increasing traffic flow with the related pollution problems and potential accidents and loss of amenities for affected residents. There are adequate supermarket facilities next to the  application site and further facilities for local shopping at The Oval and along Belmont Road. The encroachment of the workings of the site for those living next door ie noise from constant shopping traffic and delivery vehicles, light pollution from the car park at night will bring a lower quality of life.

If the hotel does close, without proper investigation as to the opportunity for new proprietors to take over, then the Council should consider the benefits for the local community of the building being utilised for alternative uses. The council is I believe looking to finance a new care home. This building has 60 bedrooms and with relocating the doctors surgery and possible the pharmacy with the addition of a dentist and other medical facilities onto this central site, better use will ensue for local residents in some of the most deprived areas of Hereford. If the medical and health facilities were transferred to this site and building, the vacated units at Eastholme Avenue could become a small business hub.

Should this application be approved the Planning Committee will have done a great disservice to the local area and its residents and therefore the Planning Committee should reject this application.

************************************************************
Air Quality Report
Three Counties Hotel
Belmont
Hereford
HR2 7BP

Exceeds two WHO limits

LEVELS & HEALTH EFFECTS
Pollutant one: PM2.5
At this address, the annual average of the pollutant PM2.5 is 8.67mcg/m3. 
The World Health Organization limit is 5mcg/m3.
These particles, which are less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, can cause asthma, respiratory inflammation and even promote cancers.

Pollutant two: PM10
The reading for PM10 at this address is 14.76mcg/m3. 
The limit is 15mcg/m3.
PM10 can cause wheezing, bronchitis and reduce lung development.

Pollutant three: NO2
The reading for N02 at this address is 12.04mcg/m3. 
The limit is 10mcg/m3.
Long term exposure to even low levels of this toxic gas increases mortality rates and contributes to the development of asthma, and other respiratory issues.

https://addresspollution.org/results/c23864b2-142e-44b2-8141-84687c25bbde

National Planning Policy Framework (extracts)

Planning policies and decisions should play an active role in guiding development towards sustainable solutions, but in doing so should take local circumstances into account, to reflect
the character, needs and opportunities of each area. 

The planning system should be genuinely plan-led. Succinct and up-to-date plans should provide a positive vision for the future of each area; a framework for
addressing housing needs and other economic, social and environmental priorities; and a platform for local people to shape their surroundings.

To provide the social, recreational and cultural facilities and services the community needs, planning policies and decisions should:

a) plan positively for the provision and use of shared spaces, community facilities (such as local shops, meeting places, sports venues, open space, cultural buildings, public houses and places of worship) and other local services to enhance the sustainability of communities and residential environments;

b) take into account and support the delivery of local strategies to improve health, social and cultural well-being for all sections of the community;

c) guard against the unnecessary loss of valued facilities and services, particularly where this would reduce the community’s ability to meet its day-to-day needs;

The creation of high quality, beautiful and sustainable buildings and places is fundamental to what the planning and development process should achieve. Good design is a key aspect of sustainable development, creates better places in which to live and work and helps make development acceptable to communities. Being clear about design expectations, and how these will be tested, is essential for achieving this. So too is effective engagement between applicants, communities, local planning authorities and other interests throughout the process.

Your submission reference is 821607

*******************************************

The government and the majority of their minions are looking after themselves regardless of those vulnerable sectors it should be representing.

Do we live in a democracy?

https://www.ukcolumn.org/video/uk-column-news-25th-october-2023

Andrew Bridgen presents Bill preventing UK Government from signing Pandemic Preparedness Treaty without a referendum

00:24 Andrew Bridgen (YouTube): 10 Minute Rule Bill—Parliamentary Sovereignty (Referendums) Bill

Andrew Bridgen (on X): 

"YouTube have taken down the speech I gave in Parliament today. I am an elected member of the UK Parliament. The speech was given in the Chamber of the House of Commons and responded to by a Government Minister, what chance has anyone else got of putting their views on YouTube?"

All part of the control and surveillance of the UK public as directed by the US CIA.
 

The Guardian 8th Sept 2023

Call for UK ban on single-use vapes as more than 5m discarded each week

Five million single-use vapes are being thrown away in the UK every week, a fourfold increase on 2022, research has found.

This amounts to eight vapes a second being discarded, with the lithium in the products enough to create 5,000 electric car batteries a year.

The not-for-profit organisation Material Focus, which conducted the research, said the problem was out of control.

The findings come after a series of calls for a ban, with councils and leading paediatricians among those demanding action on vapes because of health and environmental concerns.

Scott Butler, the executive director at Material Focus, said the “problem with single-use vapes has gotten further out of control” since the organisation published research last year. “Single-use vapes are a strong contender for being the most environmentally wasteful, damaging and dangerous consumer product ever made,” he said.

The number of young women vaping in the UK has more than tripled in the past year, government figures show.

I can confirm this on my litter picks. Packet, instructions, plastic top and battery just thrown down in the street after use.

And youngsters damaging their brains sucking in this poison by the age of thirty.

Had problems uploading the images to highlight the first paragraph above. If I hadn't found the knife none of this would have happened. The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Gobowen, near Oswestry, Shropshire, England is a specialist orthopaedic hospital which provides elective orthopaedic surgery. Marvellous hospital with excellent staff - almost like an upmarket hotel - I enjoyed my two week stay there.

Following a shattered elbow at the end of March I have been confined to the house, not able to drive, ride my bike and do little else except help my partner. Even she is getting cheesed off with me. All this came about after discovering a carving knife in an outside drain, which the police weren't interested in and deciding to tell a neighbour to be careful who they talk to, tripped over some spare tyres in the dark and caused the injury. However things are slowing improving with my physio and daily readings of the Slog.

All things move slowly, but we all hope for a better time to come. Our problems are caused by a minority of individuals on our planet who wish to control and coerce us into their way of thinking. I thought it would be interesting to look at the figures behind our state of affairs.

Quoting from various sources in 2022 the number of countries run by tyrannical dictators were 57 - surprisingly none by women. Definition of a dictator - the ruler of a land rated “Not Free” as in the site below:

https://planetrulers.com/current-dictators/
and
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/dictatorship-countries

These people want to run affairs that suit them and their minions only and have total disregard for everyone else. This has resulted in mass migration of people who cannot exist in these countries and they have to flee to escape the ‘manual of repression’ shared by modern tyrants:

https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-07-20/the-manual-of-repression-shared-by-modern-tyrants.html

So the world is changing for the worst. With the exception of Mongolia there is no democracy from the EU borders to the Sea of Japan. Most of Africa is in the same boat (no pun intended).

Pushing people westwards, putting them up in hotels, military camps and now in floating bulwarks off our coast exasperates the future condition and opportunities for UK citizens who now have to integrate with these new boys on the block. At £6 million pounds a day to house the masses including criminals many tourists can't find a bed for the night and the money they could spend is ‎lost to the local economy.

As things progress we will probably end up being run by one global dictatorship possibly the United Nations. However who pulls the strings above this lot can only be assumed to be a Mafia. 

In the  Daily Depress today:

By RICHARD ASHMORE
15:30, Sat, Mar 25, 2023 | UPDATED: 16:06, Sat, Mar 25, 2023

‘Bored’ asylum seekers say living in £6.8m taxpayer funded hotels is like ‘living in jail’

Nearly 400 hotels are now being used to accommodate more than 51,000 migrants hoping to claim asylum in the UK.

Asylum seekers living in taxpayer-funded hotel rooms across Britain are "bored", upset with the "bad food" and say it’s like "living in jail". Migrants reaching the UK via small boats across the English Channel are frequently sent to hotels which are being turned into refugee centres funded by Government incentives.

It’s estimated it costs the taxpayer £6.8million a day to fund the Home Office scheme which has housed more than 51,000 migrants in around 395 hotels, the Mail Online reports.

A Government announcement is expected in coming weeks for plans to stop the practice in favour of using converted disused military sites.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has signalled she wishes the "unacceptable" migrant hotel housing scheme to end as the strategy nears maximum capacity and as it does not represent good value for money.

Using hotels has also thrown up controversy in the cities, towns and villages where migrants have replaced guests.

Daily Depress today:

Military families forced from their homes as asylum seekers look set to replace them

EXCLUSIVE: A mother living at an MOD facility said families on the former RAF base had been told to leave, as fencing is erected 100m away 'for asylum seekers'.

Military families living on an historic air base have been told they have to leave their homes, as the Home Office looks set to move asylum seekers onto the former RAF facility in a matter of days.

A source living on MDP Wethersfield told Express.co.uk the deputy head of establishment at the base has informed families that asylum seekers will be brought onto site next week - on April 1.

Quote

 

What has the hotel said?

The Three Counties Hotel has refused to speak to the Hereford Times, despite being contacted for comment.

 

Hereford Times commentator say he is getting £86,000 a week.

I have done and they have told me to dispose of it!

13 inch stainless steel knife conveniently dropped into road drain. Noticed while litter picking Sunday12th March 2023. Hope it wasn't used on anyone! Contacted police that morning. No reply so far.

What has the hotel said?

The Three Counties Hotel has refused to speak to the Hereford Times, despite being contacted for comment.

Interesting that the owner of the hotel is very quiet - He is obviously content with the situation. 

I wonder what Bill Wiggin and Jesse Norman's moves on this will be? Especially as the authorities expect to use the services of Hereford Medical Group.

Recent article in Hereford Times:

Worst for same-day appointments
Hereford Medical Group came in last place, with just 27.78 per cent of patients (8,225) given same-day appointments.