megilleland

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

Good post from Simon Brown on the Hereford Times website today on the state of democracy within the county and elsewhere. Thought I would paste it here before it gets wiped off.

On the council's website today.

Noticed the Herefordshire Council have issued this press release following last weeks exposure to awarding emergency grants and loans to vulnerable groups In December last year, all authorities were provided with figures on the indicative numbers of troubled families in their area. This figure represents the number of families that you are being asked to turn around. You may not succeed in turning around every family that you work with, and therefore it is likely you will need to work with more families than your indicative numbers. The Troubled Families programme Financial framework for the Troubled Families programme’s payment-by-results scheme for local authorities This document explains • the process for drawing up the list of families who will be part of the programme, the criteria drawn up by government and also how to employ your local intelligence on families with serious problems and high costs; • the criteria for identifying which of these families are eligible for additional funding from government through a payment-by-results scheme; and • what you would need to achieve with each family in order to claim the result-based payment. This document is not a delivery strategy. It does not cover good practice on interventions for families, or provide advice on drawing up your local business case for investment or redesigning of public services. We will have a role in helping to build up and share that kind of information among the network of Troubled Families co-ordinators, but are not attempting to do that here. Sounds like a modern version of a Social Domesday Book.

Abbeydore and Bacton, Ewyas Harold Group and Kentchurch Almeley Bartestree and Lugwardine Belmont Bishops Frome Bishopstone Group Bodenham Border Group Brampton Abbotts Bredenbury Bridstow Brimfield & Little Hereford Brockhampton with Much Fawley Bromyard, Winslow and Avenbury Burghill Callow and Haywood Clifford Colwall Cradley Cusop Dinedor Dorstone Eardisley Garway Hampton Bishop Hatfield Holme Lacy Hope under Dinmore How Caple, Sollers Hope and Yatton Group Humber, Ford & Stoke Prior Kings Caple Kingsland Kington, Kington Rural and Lower Harpton Ledbury Leominster Little Dewchurch Llangarron Llanwarne Longtown Lower Bullingham Luston group Lyonshall Marden Moreton-on-Lugg Much Marcle Orcop Orleton and Richards Castle Pembridge Peterchurch Peterstow Pyons Group Ross on Wye and Ross Rural Shobdon Staunton Stretton Sugwas Upton Bishop Vowchurch and District Walford Welsh Newton And Llanrothal Weobley Weston-under-Penyard Whitbourne Whitchurch and Ganarew Group Wigmore Withington Wyeside Yarpole The majority of plans above are being undertaken by parish councils. Interesting to note that the towns of Bromyard, Ledbury, Leominster, Kington are having a say in their future. Not surprising Hereford City, one of the largest parish councils in the country is not listed. With seven wards in Hereford City residents may wish to have a say in their future. How do they go about creating a plan? Most of my enquiries have not been responed to. Perhaps a city councillor can elaborate? If the neighbourhood plan had been in place would OLM have gone ahead?

Why does the city look like a dump? The visitor's first point of contact with the city is through its roads and car parks. As I have pointed out most car parks in this city look like bomb sites. Also there are too many all at ground level with the exception of the Garrick multi-storey in Widemarsh Street and open to all weathers. If the council doubled up with a first floor this would release land to be turned into green corridors/squares linking through the city. Most roads in the city are covered in grit, pot holes and litter especially around traffic islands. No doubt Blackfriars will be the first to be completely resurfaced just before the OLM opens. At the moment you have to cycle down the middle of the road to find a level surface.

Flambouyant here is the answer! Watch the video. Spanish town posts dog mess back to offending hound owners A Spanish town has come up with an ingenious way to keep its streets clean of dog mess – by sending the offending deposits back to the owners in an official box marked 'Lost Property'. The council of Brunete, a small town some 20 miles west of Madrid, launched the campaign to crack down on irresponsible dog owners. During the course of a week a team of twenty volunteers patrolled the town's streets on the lookout for dog owners who failed to scoop. They then approached the guilty owner and struck up a casual conversation to discover the name of the dog. "With the name of the dog and the breed it was possible to identify the owner from the registered pet database held in the town hall," explained a spokesman from the council. The volunteers then scooped up the excrement and packaged it in a box branded with town hall insignia and marked 'Lost Property' and delivered by courier to the pet owners home. The campaign, developed for free by advertising agency McCann, won the "Sol de Plata" award at last weekend's Ibero-American Advertising Festival. In all, 147 "express poop" deliveries were made during the course of the week in February and the town with 10,000 residents has since reported a 70 per cent drop in the amount of dog mess found in its streets. The year before a similar attempt to tackle the issue saw offending dog owners chased by a remote controlled dog mess on wheels with the label "Don't leave me – pick me up". In Hernani, a town in the Basque Country in northern Spain, the council introduced a by-law two years ago forcing pet owners to register their dog's DNA so that they could be traced if their excrement was found in the streets or parks. However as a postman I wouldn't want a stack of these packets in the van with me!

Flamboyant read the report. Plenty of suggestions to start it off.

I don't think this going to work. A bit like the Tory/Lib Dem coalition. Just lap dogs - all bark and no bite.

Here is some encouraging news regarding cycling which could put Hereford on the map and raise interest in a circuit cycling track and Velodrome for the city.

How about these ideas for car parking? The word 'cool' is rarely the first thing that springs to a motorist's mind when negotiating the entrance to a multi-storey car park. The usually grey, soul-less buildings are not generally regarded as epitomes of architectural elegance or groundbreaking examples of modern design. But a competition to find the world's coolest car parks has uncovered dozens of stunning examples and now two British, as well as several US institutions have made it into the top 10.

I came across this article and thought it was very apt, with the development of the Old Livestock Market and its potential effect on the established retail businesses, especially in High Town and its related retail streets. It would be an idea to give this report some debate and how it relates to Hereford. The OLM will be the only shopping development opening next year in the UK and to wait until it opens before finding alternative strategies for the established shopping areas, will I fear be too late for most businesses. How would you like to see the two areas working and interacting? High Street needs post-war scale rebuilding says report By Emma Simpson, Business correspondent, BBC News 29 November 2013 Rejuvenating town centres requires radical action on a scale not seen since the building programmes of post-war Britain, according to a new report. The Distressed Town Centre Property Taskforce says structural changes needed in retail are so fundamental, many towns and cities need reshaping. The taskforce was set up following Mary Portas's review of the High Street. The report calls on the government to designate town and city centres as key national infrastructure. In its scale and range, it is an unprecedented group. For the past 13 months, senior retailers, property investors, landlords and bankers have been investigating the impact of the changes that have affected retail and property in England's towns and city centres. In other words, the folk who own and finance so much of our town centres have come up with their own solutions on what to do. Too many shops? One of the main recommendations is that the government should designate town and city centres as key national infrastructure in order to open up new funding opportunities. The retail landscape has changed completely in the last five years, thanks to the recession and the shift to online shopping. It has left most towns with too many shops. The report found that in the past four decades, retail floor space in England increased by around 43 million square metres. That is the equivalent of building nearly 300 Bluewater Shopping centres across England, or seven of the new Westfield centres near the London Olympic site every year since the early 1970s. The chairman of the taskforce, Mark Williams, said: "There's still a need for vibrant retail, just less of it." Mr Williams, who is also a partner at the retail property firm, Hark Group, added: "Over the past 12 months, it has become increasingly clear that waiting for so called 'normal' economic growth to return is unviable: Many more town centres will have embarked on a course of terminal decline." Scourge Solutions, he says, will vary from place to place but for the overwhelming majority, a smaller retail core is necessary and alternative uses like housing and leisure need to be found. But for local authorities, it hasn't been easy tackling the surplus of space and with it the scourge of empty properties. There are often a myriad of different landlords and competing interests to deal with, as well as getting funding. Friday's report spells out the problems along with recommendations for change. They include: * Government should designate town and city centres as infrastructure in order to open significant funding opportunities currently not accessible. A High Street Infrastructure platform should be set up to help to deliver this idea * Bold and strategic land assembly is required. Government should pilot a joint venture vehicle and an associated High Street property fund to pool land assets and address fragmented ownership * Make it easier for councils to use compulsory purchase powers in order to bring about the scale required for major urban regeneration * Local authorities should take more risk in investing capital reserves now, which can be replenished as the economy recovers * Significantly greater flexibility in the planning system is needed to enable quick and easy change of use from redundant retail premises to more economically productive uses Edward Cooke, the director of policy for the British Council of Shopping Centres, said: "All stakeholders have a role to play: Individuals, local councils, local and national businesses and central government. "We believe these recommendations will deliver the direction and the funding necessary to make this happen." Demolish The question is, who will be paying for all this potential change? The group says it is not asking the taxpayer to foot the entire bill. Often the problem is down to a gap in funding, which, if plugged, would make a development viable. The Taskforce believes post-financial crisis, the traditional funding models for town centre redevelopment are no longer fit for purpose. New ways of funding have to be found and that key bodies in the retail and property sectors are keen to play their part. The message from the retail property industry to the government is clear: they are prepared to demolish land and write off distressed buildings to regenerate town centres, if the public sector and government can make it easier rebuild. Mr Williams said: "There is a huge amount of private sector funds available to regenerate town centres. But it requires scale and planning. What it's not there is for piecemeal change, an ad hoc approach to fix the odd shop. "So we're looking about scale and critical mass. And in that sense the private sector will respond to local authorities and government initiatives." Bedfellows The Taskforce says it is up to individual communities and local authorities to decide what is right for their area. But "future proofing" towns will require strong local leadership. The big commercial stakeholders in our towns and cities are not often comfortable bedfellows, but they have all signed up to this report. "What is extremely pleasing is that a wide coalition of influential stakeholders has united behind agreed parking issues and develop local plans and good local vision," said Tom Ironside, British Retail Consortium Director of Business and Regulation. The government, which encouraged the Taskforce to be set up, is now digesting the findings. The Housing Minister, Brandon Lewis, said: "It's a really interesting report with some really interesting things here which we need to look at. We are doing an awful lot for the High Street, we're empowering local communities to shape their town centres for what's right for their communities in the future." Lots of comments on this article (587) The report in full here: Beyond Retail Redefining the shape and purpose of town centres November 2013 Contents 1. PRINCIPAL RECOMMENDATIONS 2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2.1 Vision 2.2 Primary challenges 3. RECOMMENDATIONS 4. TOWN CENTRE CONTEXT 4.1 Historic trends 4.2 The perfect storm 4.3 High vacancy rates 4.4 Population growth and relative affluence 5. KEY ISSUES 5.1 Local leadership 5.2 Polarisation 5.3 Too much retail floorspace 5.4 The wrong type of space 5.5 Understanding the catchment demographics and shopping patterns 5.6 Car parking 5.7 Business rates 5.8 Digitising the high street 5.9 Funding 6. CONCLUSIONS 7. APPENDICES Appendix 1 — Survey results Appendix 2 — Interviewees and survey contributors Appendix 3 — Town Performance Matrix Appendix 4 — Sample towns Appendix 5 — Taskforce members

Changes to the Social Fund As part of the Government's welfare reform, local authorities have taken over parts of the Social Fund and are now responsible for awarding emergency grants and loans to vulnerable groups. The Government has abolished the previous system of discretionary payments and replaced it with a new locally-based provision delivered by local authorities in England and devolved to the governments of Scotland and Wales. On H&W radio today Herefordshire Council exposed of having given out only 1% of the grant money (total fund £300,000) to vunerable groups, with 6 out of 7 people asking for help turned down. H&W radio are taking this up and Cllr Tony Johnson is to be interviewed this morning as to why this is, bearing in mind Newton Farm falls into one of the areas which would qualify due to poverty levels.

October expenses up on Counil's website. From £10,811,299.47 spent this month the following stand out again. £851,967.86 Redacted (not allowed to know to whom this money is being paid) £587,902.68 Hoople £338,771.14 Fcc Environment Services (uk) Ltd (formerly FOSCA waste) £36,435.80 Hereford Futures 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 Total to date: £4,287,139.47

More background information from Herefordshire Council's Agenda of Regulatory Sub Committee Wednesday 27 November 2013 11.00 am EXPEDITED/SUMMARY LICENCE REVIEW OF THE PREMSIES LICENCE IN RESPECT OF THE 'BREWERS ARMS, 97 EIGN ROAD, HEREFORD To consider an application for an ‘expedited licence review’ of the premises licence relating to the ‘Brewers Arms, 97 Eign Road, Hereford. MEETING: REGULATORY SUB-COMMITTEE DATE: 27 NOVEMBER 2013 TITLE OF REPORT: EXPEDITED/SUMMARY LICENCE REVIEW OF THE PREMSIES LICENCE IN RESPECT OF THE ‘BREWERS ARMS, 97 EIGN ROAD, HEREFORD, REPORT BY: LICENSING OFFICER also Application for the review of a premises licence under section 53A of the Licensing Act 2003 (premises associated with serious crime or disorder

However behind the scenes a lot is being organised not for the benefit of local citizens nor necessarily by councillors. National government plays the lead role in giving us what we think is democracy. I have predicted that we are seeing the demise of our local authorities, to be replaced by regional enterprise partnerships (LEPs) and professional interests. These selected people, not democratically elected, will decide what is good for us and how the local economy will be controlled. I have been reading about Common Purpose on UK Column and the establishment of an organisation named "Locality" and where it has been established throughout the UK. Surprisingly or not Herefordshire Council has gone overboard with this idea while the IEWM provided Herefordshire Council with £212,500 to support the development of this way of working. Improvement and Efficiency West Midlands (IEWM) is the brand name of the West Midlands Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership (RIEP). Locality working in Herefordshire Working in partnership with empowered communities - local people involved in local decisions and given more control over local issues. Who are the important key partners for locality working? You can find a list of all those currently listed on the contacts database for locality working (Excel document) on the Council's website Locality page. Click on "Who are the important key partners for locality working"? Is this a scheme to establish a select consultation group when issues affecting ordinary citizens are raised?

Biomech I am afraid this is the name of the game. When are the authorities going to realise that if some people are unable to pay now, how are they going to pay in the future. Just read that: *profligacy, stupidity and narcissism" - this sounds familiar for our present council doesn't it?. Unfortunately if governments want growth then we must all go into more debt! This is madness. Positive Money video: Why is there so much debt?

Glenda, I think that's what came out of the meeting that south of the river was not viable. It would be ideal to have it close to the Holmer Road Leisure centre and skatepark where there is some space for a circuit track initially and than a Velodrome later.

Just received the report of the Velodrome Meeting held in October. Lots of information to peruse and digest: File attached HV Velodrome Meeting 17 October 2013.pdf Photo attached

Agenda Audit and Governance Committee Tuesday 26 November 2013 10.00 am part of Standards Panel Recommendations 8.6.1 Complaint 13001 was made by Councillor P. Edwards against Councillor G. Vaughan-Powell. The complainant alleged that the subject member had undertaken actions which would bring the authority, or its members or officers generally, into disrepute; disclosed information which was of a confidential nature and failed to treat him with respect and courtesy. Following consideration by the monitoring officer, the complaint was referred for consideration and determination by a standards panel, and was considered on 10th September and 6th November 2013 by a standards panel chaired by Rob Cook, an appointed independent person. 8.6.2 The panel considered the facts of the case and the comments of both the complainant and the subject member, and found that the subject member had not breached of the members’ Code of Conduct. The report of the independent person is at Appendix 3a and b. 8.7.1 Complaint 13016 was made by Councillor A. Bridges against Councillor G. Vaughan-Powell. The complainant alleged that the subject member had undertaken actions which would bring the authority, or its members or officers generally, into disrepute and had failed to treat him with respect and courtesy. Following consideration by the monitoring officer, the complaint was referred for consideration and determination by a standards panel, and was considered on 10th September and 6th November 2013 by a standards panel chaired by Rob Cook, an appointed independent person. The panel considered the facts of the case and the comments of both the complainant and the subject member, and found that the subject member had not breached of the members’ Code of Conduct. The report of the independent person is at Appendix 3a and b. 8.8.1 Complaint 13017 was made by Mrs Elizabeth Kelso, the Belmont Rural Parish Clerk, against Councillor G. Vaughan-Powell. The complainant alleged that the subject member had undertaken actions which would bring the authority, or its members or officers generally, into disrepute and had failed to treat her with respect and courtesy. Following consideration by the monitoring officer, the complaint was referred for consideration and determination by a standards panel, and was considered on 10th September and 6th November 2013 by a standards panel chaired by Rob Cook, an appointed independent person. The panel considered the facts of the case and the comments of both the complainant and the subject member, and found that the subject member had not breached of the members’ Code of Conduct. The report of the independent person is at Appendix 3a and b. Appendix 3a Meeting of the Standards Panel Tuesday 10 September 2013: Room 22a, Brockington Appendix 3b Meeting of the Standards Panel Wednesday 6 November 2013: Room 14a, Brockington This was a continuation of the adourned panel meeting on 10 September 2013

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And all this at the beginning of the year and now only £100,000 in general reserves according to the Hereford Times.

They are running a vote on the article above. Here is the latest result at 9am today. The result gives a clear message and endorses Colin's Lights Out campaign in Hereford Are there too many traffic lights in Worcester? Yes, many are not needed: 71% No, we need more: 7% Yes, but they're necessary: 20% I don't know: 2%

Remember this reply a few weeks ago in Hereford Times letters: Cllr Patricia Morgan, Cabinet Member, Assets and Corporate Services: "With reference to your article on sales of council assets (October 17), Herefordshire Council like many other councils owns many assets ranging from tiny parcels of land to offices such as Plough Lane. Herefordshire Council has a duty to manage the asset portfolio so that it uses county taxpayers’ money to best advantage. Inevitably over time, some of the assets have become surplus to requirements either because they are not delivering a sufficient return and/or that they are no longer strategically important to support the delivery of services. Currently the council has a policy for the disposal of surplus assets which has been in operation since 2009. The assets recently sold at auction were part of a series of three auctions to sell off surplus assets under the current policy. The first was in July and a third is planned for February next year. This is not some “fire†sale but a planned approach to ensure best value for the taxpayer. There are many ways to sell assets but the key driver must surely be ensuring value for money for the taxpayer". Keep saying it and you will believe it!

Communication is the name of the game or in this council's case a complete lack of it and disregard for its ratepayers. Agenda Cabinet Thursday 21 November 2013 2.00 pm item: 4. CORPORATE PERFORMANCE REPORT 2013/15: QUARTER 2 To review performance for the first half of 2013-14 and agree any further actions arsing to address performance issues. Additional document: Appendix 1 - Cabinet Q2 Critical Performance Measures CUSTOMERS % of web users that were satisfied or content with their visit 2011/12 Outturn - 80.6% 2012-13 Outturn - 76.6% 2013/14 Target - >76.6% Latest Outturn - 54.4% Significantly behind target Rating - Red Direction of travel - Downwards % of web users who did not find what they were looking for 2011/12 Outturn - 19.0% 2012-13 Outturn - 21.54% 2013/14 Target - 20.0% Latest Outturn - 26.89% Significantly behind target Rating - Red Direction of travel - Downwards Reduce the % of calls abandoned 2011/12 Outturn - 7.20% (9,921 out of 136,375) 2012-13 Outturn - 14.22% (24,191 out of 168,633) 2013/14 Target - <14.22% Latest Outturn - 18.16% (16,516 out of 91,372) Rating - Red Direction of travel - Downwards item: 5. Budget Monitoring Report To provide Cabinet with assurance on the robustness of budgetary control and monitoring across the Council, to highlight key financial risks within directorates and identify mitigation to bring the authority within its overall approved budget. Additional document: APPENDIX D ECONOMY, COMMUNITIES AND CORPORATE MONTHLY BUDGET CONTROL REPORT (extracts) Legal proceedings were commenced against the Council (and other Councils) by private search companies which could result in this Council having to repay around £367k putting pressure on 2013/14 budgets. The outcome of this claim will have an impact on the way we deliver this service in the future. This includes the loss of rental income as a result of the impact of selling Council land and property assets in the current year which is partly mitigated in year only by the expectation of £75k for disposals less than £10k. There is a risk in relation to disputed items in the Amey contract, as previously reported. There is also the risk of the cost of emergency repairs in response to severe weather conditions, such as flooding or harsh winter conditions. Whilst DCLG assist in the funding of these costs, through the Bellwin scheme, Herefordshire would have to fund the first £454k within current budgets. Based on parking income levels for the first six months of the year, there is an expected shortfall of £95k for the year; this is partly mitigated by one off premises savings relating to the temporary closure of Garrick House Car Park for repair. * Tonight the Council are running this message on their website: "Please accept our apologies. Our website is experiencing some problems and may run slowly. We are working to fix it. If we have any urgent alerts they will be posted at newsroom.herefordshire.gov.uk"