megilleland

This is what a lot of subways in the UK look like. Not very nice.

These drawings give some idea of the junction proposals and extension to existing 20mph zones. Not sure if they are relevant today. Herefordshire Council proposed extension to existing 20mph zone 6th December 2011.pdf Proposed speed reduction, traffic regulation and restricted zone order layout 1st September 2011.pdf

Introducing more traffic movements isn't going to help at this junction, unless a shared space scheme without traffic lights is used, similar to Poynton in Cheshire. Will the council revoke its traffic regulation order on Widemarsh Street to allow cycling both ways along it length?

In The Hereford Times

Alex and Victor there is no question of something modern being built here it is just a question of when. The council should put pressure on the landlords or compulsory purchase the site.

Here are some images and videos of the bridge to give posters an idea of what it looks like. BBC Cabot Circus: Bond Street bridge images Cabot Circus Pedestrian Bridge 1 Cabot Circus Pedestrian Bridge 2

Looks like a useful site with a commendable aim to what could be achieved in designing out waste: The Ellen MacArthur Foundation believes that the circular economy provides a coherent framework for systems level re-design and as such offers us an opportunity to harness innovation and creativity to enable a positive, restorative economy. The circular economy refers to an industrial economy that is restorative by intention; aims to rely on renewable energy; minimise, tracks and eliminates the use of toxic chemicals; and eradicates waste through careful design. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation's 2012 report Towards the Circular Economy stated that moving to this new model could be worth up to USD 630 billion for Europe alone, and the Foundation has identified that showcasing the companies leading this shift is key in demonstrating what is possible within this different framework. We can already see evidence of a transition taking place, and the concept and principles of the circular economy have already been put into practice by very different companies around the world. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation aims to document the best case studies in this area, to inform, inspire and stimulate research. The Circular Economy principle The circular economy refers to an industrial economy that is restorative by intention; aims to rely on renewable energy; minimises, tracks, and hopefully eliminates the use of toxic chemicals; and eradicates waste through careful design. The term goes beyond the mechanics of production and consumption of goods and services, in the areas that it seeks to redefine (examples include rebuilding capital including social and natural, and the shift from consumer to user). The concept of the circular economy is grounded in the study of non-linear, particularly living systems. Case studies here:

I have come in late here, but how many councillors have really looked into the alternatives for producing waste from energy? That is, shown a genuine interest in finding out for themselves what is happening out there beyond Hereford - the internet is a good source. The impression I get of how the council does business is that someone has a bright idea of how to get rid of our rubbish and then plans a scheme which benefits everyone associated financially except the council/tax payer. This problem of getting rid of rubbish is a universal one and is being addressed in a variety of ways. The public have no time for technical chat, acronyms and finanacial wizardry to know how this will be achieved. So often we leave it to the so called experts and only show interest when the scheme goes pear shaped and then it is too late. Here is what is happening in Europe. There appears to be two problems with the Hereford approach. The first was to decide which of the methods to get rid of our rubbish fits in with the council's master plan ie incineration and the second to find a finance package favourable to get it working and keeping it going to keep the money rolling in. PFI and PPP schemes are not in the best interest of council tax payers, only for councils (to get them out of the s*it and the developers and financiers to make money out of s*it, leaving council tax payers up to their necks in s*it for the next 25 years. It has been proven that the most cost effective way of reducing waste is to recycle. Check out this presentation by an American community To me MTB (Mechanical Biological Treatment) seems the way forward. Bournemoth Borough Council have produced a simple and clear view of all the options available listing the benefits and downsides. See pp 14 & 15 item 4.1 Biological treatment with Mechanical Biological Treatment and item 4.2 Heat Treatments within Mechanical Heat Treatment Technologies. It is about time Hereford and the county stepped forward and led in the field of waste recovery. The existing colleges and a future university in Hereford could play a part in the challenge for a sustainable future instead of its citizens watching its taxes go up in smoke.

Not sure what the status of the buildings are, but being in a conservation area, the council must have duties to protect them? See here for Hereford City Central Area conservation area. The Hereford City Central Area map is here. Maybe a councillor could delve into what is going on and tell us the current plans for the site and timeline?

Simon - where's the link or full name of the Bristol plant? Is this the site?

But the traffic wouldn't have to stop if we had shared space Colin. What is going to make the Widemarsh Gateway complicated to cross will be traffic turning right out Tesco and traffic turning right from Blueschool Street to go up Widemarsh Street The addition of these 2 extra turnings will only add more traffic lights!!

Waste Management Service Contract: Members Briefing October 2013 Frequently Asked Questions (V2.0) Useful time line from 1998 to present showing how the councils have been guided (manipulated) and their responses justified.

In The Hereford Times comments 12th December 2013 Cllr Liz Harvey says... "Apologies - long post alert … and no jokes or rants, but please persevere. This is a complicated subject – but not a difficult one. Whilst it is not well suited to the sound-bite format of a press article, it is something which residents have the right to have explained to them in a straightforward manner. We all contribute to the creation of household waste, and we are all collectively responsible for the problem of its disposal … although it’s the council’s responsibility to see that this is actually done, day-in day-out, without fail. And this is the crux of it. The council is 15 years into a 25 year PFI contract (ending 2023) for waste disposal jointly with Worcestershire, run by Mercia Waste, which is 50% owned by Urbaser, a well-thought-of Spanish company experienced in building and running waste incineration plants. The other half of Mercia are owned by the company which runs the two councils' waste collection contract which runs out in 2016 but could be extended to 2023 - so it's a complicated and somewhat incestuous situation. The contract set out in 1998 requiring our waste to be disposed of by incineration (which disposes of 90%+ of our non-recyclable rubbish) so that our existing landfill sites would last for much longer. Since 1998 several attempts have been made to make this happen which for various reasons have been unsuccessful. Meanwhile, our landfill site has been being filled-up fast, energy prices have started to rocket and waste has started to become seen as an asset - a source of valuable materials rather than just a problem to be dealt with, a liability. During the life of the contract, the rapidly increasing ‘value’ of household waste in terms of its recyclable elements and the energy (heat and electricity) which can be obtained from its disposal has encouraged investment in technology which significantly improves the sophistication with which different materials can be separated for recycling and composting. This investment has also improved the efficiency with which the heat and gases, generated when the remaining waste is burned, can be turned into electricity for the national grid and into heat for homes and businesses close to the power plant. The dilemma facing both councils right now is whether this new technology is sufficiently reliable for the councils to RELY ON IT to dispose of our household rubbish, yours and mine, day-in day-out without fail for the next 20-30 years. Waste experts have been consulted, and have given their opinions – but most acknowledge that the newer technologies are improving very rapidly, but they are currently NOT PROVEN to the point where understandably cautious and naturally risk-averse councils can be CERTAIN they will deliver robust disposal solutions needed for household rubbish. This picture is further complicated by the fact that the current PFI contractor builds power generating incinerators for a living and is understandably keen to be paid to build one under the current contract. This would also put them in a good place to bid for the next contract in 2023 to carry on using the still nearly new plant for the whole of its working life out to 2042 and beyond. The decision to be made is not just about getting rid of our rubbish – it’s actually even more heavily influenced for the future by the money to be made from recycling the valuable metals and plastics in that rubbish and from generating what will be the VERY valuable power from burning what’s left. It’s Our County contends that the technological improvements increasing the money to be made from waste are moving so fast right now that it is sensible to give these the (relatively) short time they need to be PROVEN to the performance standards demanded by the councils. As an example, just down the road in Bristol a (jargon alert) Mechanical and Biological Treatment and Pyrolysis & Gassification Energy from Waste plant has been built over the last 2 years to handle 250,000 tonnes p.a. of household waste and to generate 13 mega-Watt hrs of electricity, with space to double its energy-generating capacity on-site. Read more about the plant here: www.neattechnology.com This plant is of the size and scale of that proposed by Herefordshire and Worcestershire and is built and working TODAY. It cost ~£60m to build – that’s a third of the price of the proposed incinerator at Hartlebury, and will generate more energy and reclaim more recyclable material from the waste it handles than the Hartlebury plant. In addition, the energy-generating part of the process doesn’t have to be done on the same site as the sorting, recycling, composting and shredding. Pyrolysis tubes can be located alongside business parks and employment sites, so that the heat and energy they generate can be used to provide cheap power to local businesses and homes. This is just one of a mix of full scale waste disposal options which are right on the edge of being demonstrated as robust solutions for the future. With 10 years to run on the current PFI, It’s Our County is simply saying: Why use the site you have already earmarked by committing to an old and less efficient waste disposal solution today – albeit one which is favoured by the current contractor, when within 3 years the evidence will exist to factor into the decision-mix these more efficient next-generation technologies – opening up the possibility for residents of both counties to secure a 21st century solution to the disposal of their 21st century waste. We have not been listened to so far, and have little hope that we can turn this decision around, as the administration seem determined to go with the single solution being pressed by Mercia Waste. Consequently, we are arguing that Herefordshire should have an exit option written into the agreement NOW with Worcestershire, which gives us the option to sell our quarter share of the incinerator plant in 2023 at the value it is currently predicted to have then. And that this option be binding on Worcestershire, should Herefordshire chose to exercise the option. That way, at least we can continue to monitor how the other technologies are evolving and can use the remaining 10 years of the PFI contract as time to design and build a plan-H for Herefordshire which can kick-in after 2023 and which we can pay for by the pegged price of our share in the incinerator. We predict that by 2023 the incinerator will need expensive upgrades to enable it to meet future environmental and recycling targets. However, Worcestershire are so certain that this is a good idea that their scrutiny committee chairman boasted in the joint cabinet meeting on Thursday that he hasn’t even bothered to put the waste contract decision on the committee’s agenda for discussion. We can’t secure a sensible outcome for Worcestershire, but we can do our best to mitigate the worst of the effects on Herefordshire; and try to keep the options open for the future even if minds are closed to the alternatives in front of us today".

November expenses up on Council's website. From £14,570,547.73 spent this month the following stand out again. £1,137,499.00 West Mercia Police & Crime Commissioner (shown as doube entry) £1,137,499.00 West Mercia Police & Crime Commissioner £595,785.79 Hoople Ltd £572,597.10 Kier Construction - Central Div of Kier Construction Ltd £468,691.46 Hereford & Worc Fire & Rescue Service (shown as doube entry) £468,691.46 Hereford & Worc Fire & Rescue Service £362,057.06 FCC Environment Services (uk) Ltd £355,725.82 Thomas Vale Construction Plc £283,617.76 Kier Construction - Central Div of Kier Construction Ltd £238,864.49 Whitecross@Stepnell Ltd £235,632.90 Shaw Healthcare (Herefordshire) Ltd £281,855.67 2Gether NHS Foundation Trust £173,844.58 Western Power Distribution £151,117.00 Speller Metcalfe Malvern Ltd £133,000.00 S C Joseph Ltd £128,337.50 Worcestershire County Council £122,664.45 Alliance In Partnership £112,611.00 Wye Valley NHS Trust £104,382.20 Livability Redacted monthly sums since June 2013: June £694,638.70 July £880,447.46 August £1,053,019.69 September £807,065.76 October £851,967.86 November £724,875.33 Total to date: £5,012,014.80 In contracts 2013: Integral UK from 01/09/2013 to 31/08/2016 £10,497,513 Balfour Beatty Living Places from 01/09/2013 to 31/08/2023 £200,000,000 Mercia Waste Management from 23/12/1998 to 01/12/2023 £227,500,000 Focsa (UK) Ltd from 01/11/2009 to 01/11/2016 £28,000,000

November expenses up on Council's website. From £14,570,547.73 spent this month the following stand out again. £1,137,499.00 West Mercia Police & Crime Commissioner (shown as doube entry) £1,137,499.00 West Mercia Police & Crime Commissioner £595,785.79 Hoople Ltd £572,597.10 Kier Construction - Central Div of Kier Construction Ltd £468,691.46 Hereford & Worc Fire & Rescue Service (shown as doube entry) £468,691.46 Hereford & Worc Fire & Rescue Service £362,057.06 FCC Environment Services (uk) Ltd £355,725.82 Thomas Vale Construction Plc £283,617.76 Kier Construction - Central Div of Kier Construction Ltd £238,864.49 Whitecross@Stepnell Ltd £235,632.90 Shaw Healthcare (Herefordshire) Ltd £281,855.67 2Gether NHS Foundation Trust £173,844.58 Western Power Distribution £151,117.00 Speller Metcalfe Malvern Ltd £133,000.00 S C Joseph Ltd £128,337.50 Worcestershire County Council £122,664.45 Alliance In Partnership £112,611.00 Wye Valley NHS Trust £104,382.20 Livability Redacted monthly sums since June 2013: June £694,638.70 July £880,447.46 August £1,053,019.69 September £807,065.76 October £851,967.86 November £724,875.33 Total to date: £5,012,014.80 In contracts 2013: Integral UK from 01/09/2013 to 31/08/2016 £10,497,513 Balfour Beatty Living Places from 01/09/2013 to 31/08/2023 £200,000,000 Mercia Waste Management from 23/12/1998 to 01/12/2023 £227,500,000 Focsa (UK) Ltd from 01/11/2009 to 01/11/2016 £28,000,000

And also with regard to fire safety. Here is what Devon and Somerset Fire Service have produced for landlords. Fire safety advice for landlords, managing agents, private dwellings, blocks of flats and owners of houses in multiple occupation and social housing.

Powers and duties of parish councils Parish councils have the power to precept (tax) their residents to support their operations and to carry out local projects. Although there is no limit to the amount that can be precepted, the money can only be raised for a limited number of purposes, defined in the 1894 Act and subsequent legislation. Powers to provide facilities Parish councils have powers to provide some facilities themselves, or they can contribute towards their provision by others. There are large variations in the services provided by parishes, but they can include the following: Allotments Support and encouragement of arts and crafts Provision of village halls Recreation grounds, parks, children's play areas, playing fields and swimming baths Cemeteries and crematoria Maintenance of closed churchyards Cleaning and drainage of ponds etc. Control of litter Public conveniences Creation and maintenance of footpaths and bridleways Provision of cycle and motorcycle parking Acquisition and maintenance of rights of way Public clocks War memorials Encouragement of tourism They may also provide the following subject to the consent of the county council or unitary authority of the area in which they lie: Bus shelters Signposting of footpaths Lighting of footpaths Off-street car parks Provision, maintenance and protection of roadside verges Representative powers Parish councils must be notified by the district or county council of: All planning applications in their areas Intention to provide a burial ground in the parish Proposals to carry out sewerage works Footpath and bridleway (more generally, 'rights of way') surveys Intention to make byelaws in relation to hackney carriages, music and dancing, promenades, sea shore and street naming Miscellaneous powers In some cases parish councils possess the following powers: Withholding of consent to stop up unclassified highways and footpaths Consultation on appointment of managers of primary schools Trustees or appointing trustees of local charities

Current casual vacancies on parish councils A parish council vacancy may arise for a number of reasons, such as a councillor's resignation or extended non-attendance at meetings. When a vacancy occurs, the parish clerk will notify Herefordshire Council and arrange to advertise the vacancy for 14 working days. If no valid request for an election is made, the council can choose a councillor. This person must be: * A British, Commonwealth, Irish, or European Union citizen * At least 18 years old * Either on the list of electors for the parish, or during the whole of the previous twelve months has: - Occupied land in the parish as an owner or tenant - Had a principal place of work in the parish - Resided in, or within three miles, of the parish Hereford City Council NOTICE OF CASUAL VACANCY in the office of PARISH WARD COUNCILLOR for Hereford, Belmont Parish Ward and Hereford City Council REQUEST FOR AN ELECTION NOTICE OF CASUAL VACANCY in the office of PARISH WARD COUNCILLOR for Hereford, Belmont Parish Ward Although the Hereford City Council sounds rather grand it is no more than a parish council in status, albeit one of the largest in UK. Read more about the city charters granted to Hereford over the years by various monarchs and how its powers were taken away by government reorganisation in 1974 and passed to our present day Herefordshire Council.

Looking through YouTube for videos about shared space and turning off traffic lights and came up with this compilation. Starting off with a series of videos about Hereford that I don't ever recount seeing before. Shared Space - ESG Herefordshire·Feb 2010 Shared Space. A new future for Hereford. Ben Hamillton-Baillie talks about the principals of Shared Space and the impact that it has on modern cities across Europe. This forms part of the plans being proposed by ESG Herefordshire for the regeneration of Hereford City Connecting people...Connecting places - ESG Herefordshire·Feb 2010 The challenge for the regeneration of Hereford. ESG Herefordshire shows the public its proposal for the connectivity of the Edgar Street grid area. Design experts Kelvin Campbell, Chris Oakley and Ben Hamilton-Baillie talk about transforming the inner ring road into a pedestrian friendly tree-lined boulevard. Graphic showing proposal for Garrick junction in Hereford Feb 2010 Graphic animation of the proposal for the Widemarsh Street junction with Newmarket and Blueschool St in Hereford. It shows real-time movements from 1700 in the day. Animation by Crowd Dynamics. Turning off traffic lights Cabstand Junction Portishead Sept 2009 The result of switching off the traffic signals Torquay traffic lights not working Jan 2011 See how much better the traffic flows when the traffic lights are turned off. Torquay Council, The Mayor and Police all take note. There is no reason why the lights cannot be turned off permanently Lights out Virginia USA Nov 2009 No traffic lights? no cops directing traffic? pushyist driver gains? No problem. This is a free for all India style of driving where nobody hits anybody. Take a drive around Virginia Beach at the end of the Nor'Ida (Nov09 nor'easter) when the traffic lights are out.. Hey, I found this pretty damn enjoyable as traffic seemed to flow better without time wasted waiting at dead lights. Saving money, switching off traffic lights Aug 2010 One way to cut the electric bills and help cut the $5Trillion public sector deficit is to switch off traffic lights that are on during the night, when they don't need to be as there's so little traffic around during that time at many junctions. It will also have the benefit of helping traffic flow, and cut pollution from having to stop / start the car at junctions that need not be controlled at night time. Understanding the principles of Shared Space Introduction to Shared Space (1 of 2) Sept 2007 Introduction to Shared Space (2 of 2) Shared space streets - what they are and how they work Oct 2011 Shared spaces or shared zones, which involves removing the traditional distinction between footpath and road so vehicles and pedestrians can share the space, is transforming Auckland (New Zealand) streets and open spaces into vibrant, people-friendly urban destinations. Other examples of shared space around the world Poynton Regenerated Jan 2013 A community in decline, divided by decades of anti-social traffic engineering, is reunited and revitalised by streetscape redesign Coventry: Shared Space (Road Junction) Nov 2011 Ashford Shared Space Feb 2009 'Shared space' seeks to change the 'mental maps' that drivers create and alert them to a different environment in which pedestrians and cyclists have equal priority. The keys to this are low speeds, a narrow carriageway and the removal of the typical visual clues for drivers, such as information signs and pedestrian guard railing. Shared Space pedestrian and traffic interaction, Bern, Switzerland March 2010 Free-flowing pedestrian and traffic flows along this busy suburban arterial route into Bern. illustrates the potential for improving pedestrian flows where a low-speed traffic environment has been created. Road carries over 20,000 vehicles per day. First three years of this and similar schemes have seen traffic flows improve, pedestrian delays reduced and significant improvements in accident rates. All former signal-controlled pedestrian crossings were removed. Ben Hamilton-Baillie and Fritz Kobi Campaigning for shared spaces in Madrid March 2013 No code on German roads June 2008 In the German town of Bohmte, the highway code has been abolished in order to create a common code for car drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. Eröffnung "Shared Space" Sonnenfelsplatz Graz, Austria Oct 2011 The Sun Rock Place was converted after conversion to a "shared space". No road signs. Everyone needs to be considerate of other road users. And to finish some humour: How To Trigger a Traffic Light on your Bike A short vide on on how to trigger a traffic light on your bike, using the power of metal and "inductive loop detectors!". Monty Python - I Like Traffic Lights The Highways Agency National Anthem. Also chanted by some councillors in Herefordshire Council.

The works were done to relieve the pinch points.

In The Independent today: I wonder what the figures for Hereford City are? Will this make a difference to small businesses when the business rates are so high? "for retail applications that are not in an existing centre or in accordance with an up-to-date local plan". What is the position regarding Hereford City centre? National Planning Policy Framework See page 13 2. Ensuring the vitality of town centres - sections 23 to 27

And some more good news! Picture here of Paula in action.

For those that can't see the wood from the trees here are two cases supporting the role of the tree in our built environment. The case for trees in development and the built environment, and although American, Urban street trees - 22 benefits. Newton Farm is covered in trees and the better for it, The problem about looking after these trees is that like the grass cutting on our estates no one appears to know who is responsible for the trees with the agencies passing the buck back and forwards. As Colin says the council is unprepared to budget for their maintenance. The council have a blanket rule that they won't touch any tree even where it restricts the light reaching peoples' properties. I had loads of problems trying to get a tree pruned which was cutting out light and sunshine - the council refused to touch it. However the housing association sent some contractors to cut back their trees and inadvertently cut the council's trees in mistake including mine. Read the saga here and here. Here is Herefordshire Council's approach to trees in the county.

Giving people more power over what happens in their neighbourhood The Our Place! programme (formerly ‘neighbourhood community budgets’) gives communities the opportunity to take control of dealing with local issues in their area. This could include: * Parents who are worried their children don’t have enough to do * Businesses who are struggling to find local staff with the right skills * Public servants who need to make their resources stretch further * Residents who want to make their neighbourhood a better place to live * or whatever is the local priority Using the Our Place! approach means putting the community at the heart of decision making and bringing together the right people – councillors, public servants, businesses, voluntary and community organisations and the community itself - to revolutionise the way a neighbourhood works. 12 areas have been piloting the Our Place! approach since 2012 and are now putting their plans into practice. Read more about about their successes and lessons learnt. The governmnet have made available a further £4.3 million to support at least 100 areas to develop their Our Place! operational plans by March 2015 and will appoint a contractor to help provide this support soon. Of these 100 areas, the contractor will support 20 to adopt a more radical approach by, for example, focusing on large or complex services The support is likely to be a mix of technical advice and grant funding and other direct help to enable areas to put their operational plans in place. We will expect our support provider/s to work with a range of different organisations including local authorities, parish and town councils, community groups and other public-sector bodies (eg NHS trusts and police authorities). Become an Our Place! team – further information For more detailed information on Our Place! or to express an interest in becoming an Our Place! neighbourhood email the Our Place! team Additional information including quick guides can be found on the My Community Rights website. Sounds like a good idea - any comments? Or will this money just go the government's "Locality" groups? See previous post on this subject.

More good cycling news. This should get more people onto a bike. Lots of photos taken during the construction to view here.