megilleland

It's in the remit of Herefordshire Council. All I need is a phone number of who to contact. The present council website is a waste of time. I hope Balfour Beatty has more interest in our surroundings.

Amey need to sort out the drainage on Great Western Way just past Barton Road bridge on the left hand bend. The drain under the mud is completely blocked and the last lot of rain completely blocked the path and people had great difficulty in passing this point for a couple of days.

Frank, thank you for your appreciation of what I am getting done, to answer your question I have just spoken to Neill Davies in regard to the hedges along Belmont road from McDonalds to Tesco, if the hedges /trees are the other side of the fence it is the responsibility of the Homeowner to cut this, that said, the hedges in the recent past were cut back by Amey but the Councillor living in Belmont had it stopped. Neill Davies on my request will now go back and ask if Amey can take this work on again. When I get a reply I will post it here.

Following on from Ian R Crane's excellent lecture on Fracking in Hereford earlier this year and the activity down in Balcombe, West Sussex where Cuadrilla are drilling for shale gas this latest video - Ian R Crane: The UK's Fracking Nightmare spells out the dangers and special interests of those involved. An excellent insight into how fracking came about and how it could affect our water supplies in the future.

Agree totally Bobby. Politics locally and nationally are causing upset and disarray. Government policies are working against the interests of ordinary people and the nation and their approach is seeping down to local authority level - witness the cutbacks and lack of consultation where decision making is made. The cabinet system, used here in Herefordshire, where a small group of councillors decide what is best in the interests of their party and not its inhabitants. So much is going on it is difficult to know where to start and get involved to help change things.

I think there are four important dates as far as Herefordians are concerned which could affect our daily life and future here in Herefordshire, UK and Europe.

1 European Parliamentary Elections

The European Parliament serves for a fixed term of five years. The next European election is expected to be held in June 2014. The actual date will be confirmed by the Secretary of State. This provides an opportunity to vote for a party that will keep us in or take us out and send that message direct to the UK Parliament on the feelings of the electorate.

Herefordshire is part of the West Midlands constituency which is represented by six members of the European Parliament (MEP).

2 Herefordshire District Council Elections on 7 May 2015

Herefordshire is divided into 40 wards represented by 58 councillors. Elections for Herefordshire Council are held every four years on the first Thursday in May.

3 Hereford City Elections

18 Councillors are elected for each of the seven wards that make up the City of Hereford. Elections are held in conjunction with the Herefordshire District Elections every four years in May unless a member resigns in which case a bye-election is held.

4 Parliamentary Elections

Members of Parliament (MPs) are elected to the House of Commons. Each parliament's government serves for a maximum of five years. The Fixed-term Parliament Act 2011 sets the date of the next general election at Thursday 7 May 2015 and subsequent elections to be held on the first Thursday of May at five year intervals. Herefordshire is covered by 2 MPs:

Jesse Norman, Hereford and South Herefordshire

Bill Wiggin, North Herefordshire

People hope that things will change for the better, but the effect of the present electoral system means that we just go from one party to another all robbing the taxpayers for their own ends. Alternative parties are not going to get a look in unless more of the electorate get up and cast a vote at the above elections. I know who I am going to vote for. Nigel and UKIP.

Have you notice lately that the Hereford Times and the general media seem to be backing off from bringing items of interest to their readers. No matter what you turn on or read they all say the same thing - what the government wants you to believe. I get my news from UK Column and for a more pithy approach from the

Colin's website here could go along way to helping people change the system. We do not have to go on like this for ever, only a couple of more years!

Hello Colin the homepage is here: The first link is to a report carried out for Herefordshire & Worcestershire Action Group.

Another mad scheme to burn council tax payers' money. There is no alternative Herefordshire and Worcester councils tell us. Yes there is - read what the Herefordshire & Worcestershire Action Group tell us can be done and save a lot of money in the process:

* 68% of the waste could be treated for a third of the cost of burning

* There is no final business case available

* No cost comparisons with cheaper preferred options

* No overall lifetime costs

* Waste levels are falling

* Incineration over capacity grows

* Waste budget figures are not available

* There is no available transport plan

* Worcester County Council is ignoring the alternatives whilst slashing £100 million from their council budgets over the next 5 years.

It now appears that the Councils of Herefordshire & Worcestershire are just going to push the vote through on the 18th July, they are trying to extend an already over priced PFI contract by 25 years.

It is imperative that you have your say. Don't let them sign an open cheque

Please also sign the 38 Degrees Petition and get others to sign here:

What is Herefordshire Council's position on this and how much is our contribution to the scheme?

Jesse Norman MP view should be sought on this financial scam as he drew attention to Private Finance Initiative (PFI) schemes which he said have been one of the costliest experiments in public policy making ever attempted. It has led to £200 billion of public debt, the equivalent to £8,000 for every household in the country. Maybe he can tell us of alternative financial schemes where the council tax payer gets value for money.

Community Cyber Cafe at Hereford Academy

I called in at the Hereford Academy and noticed a useful facility of benefit to those of us over 18 years of age and may want to get computer literate.

The Cyber Cafe is open to the public five days a week at various times when you can use computers free of charge to read and send emails, shop on-line, search for a job, write letters, practice your IT skills, tax your car or do just about anything on-line. You can also follow a course through the Cyber Cafe even if you are a beginner.

Opening times do vary but include at least two or more evenings per week. There is no need to book, but we recommend you call the Cyber Cafe on 01432 373575 or e-mail community@theherefordacademy.org.uk to check availability.

Opening hours from 3rd June 2013

Monday: 9.30am to 1pm & 3.30pm to 5.30pm

Tuesday: 9.30am to 5.00pm

Wednesday: 9.30 to 12 noon (tutor available) & 12 noon to 5pm

Thursday: 3pm to 5pm & 5pm to 7pm (tutor available)

Friday: 9.30am to 1pm

Community Update from Superintendent Ivan Powell, West Mercia Police concerning stabbing incident at Broxash Drive 16th May 2013

As the policing commander for Herefordshire I think it is important that I communicate clearly with local residents following the events of this afternoon, the 16th May 2013.

At approximately 1525 on Thursday 16th May 2013 we received a telephone call from the ambulance service telling us they were responding to a report of two men who had been stabbed. We have established that this occurred in a private address in Broxash Drive, Hereford.

A significant number of police resources were deployed to the location. These resources included firearms officers, plain clothes and uniform response officers and dog units.

At around 15:40 only 15 minutes after the call, two men were located at a private address in

Golden Post Hereford where one was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. After a short stand, off another man was arrested at the same location.

This was a fast moving investigation that required the deployment a significant number of police resources. I would like to re-iterate some key messages:

• We have two men in custody, and there is no longer any threat to the community.

• Those arrested are believed to be known to the injured men.

• We have significant policing resources committed to investigative interviewing, forensic investigation, crime scene searches and house to house enquiries.

I would like to thank the local communities in Hereford for their understanding and support during this police operation.

Whilst the identity of the injured men is known to some members of the community, police will only be confirming these identities in due course. Whilst both men were seriously assaulted, their respective conditions are not believed to be life threatening. We are providing support to them and their families at this time.

It is important for me to acknowledge that these were very serious incidents, but please be reassured there is no longer a threat to the community of Herefordshire.

Members of the public who believe that they have information that may be relevant to the police investigation are to contact West Mercia Police on 101 and ask for officers at Hereford, or please approach any of my staff who will be patrolling your areas whilst they conduct house to house enquiries over the next few days.

The metal garden shed has been removed by some tinkers. However the rest of the rubbish is still there. Coming up for one month with no action. I did call in at Herefordshire Housing and tell them and they acknowledged that they were looking into it.

Just noticed this on the H&W website traffic report:

A49 Herefordshire - Traffic light failure on A49 Cross Street in Hereford at Belmont Roundabout. Expect delays. On the roundabout.

Surely they mean traffic flowing freely not expect delays! I am just going to catch a bus into town so will find out what its like.

Hello Glenda. I spoke to the council today about the latest rubbish dumped as it is on the open space at the bottom of Bredwardine Close. Also notice that some of the wood has now been thrown over the wall of the electric sub-station. So it now looks that because the rubbish couldn't be picked when reported there are now three bodies involved ie Herefordshire Council, Herefordshire Housing and maybe the electricity board.

Some more fly tipped scrap metal appeared over this weekend to add to the existing rubbish reported above.

As I have said before litter and fly tipping on the estates creates an air of neglect which attracts further rubbish and then things begin to look run down. Am I repeating myself?

I didn't think I was hijacking Mick's post. The only reason for putting this post here was to highlight the rubbish that lies around this estate that never gets picked up for weeks. The kids use this rubbish as missiles and chuck it around all over the place and on top of the garages. I am surprised that no one has tried to start a fire with this timber. I would have picked it up myself, but I have already got enough rubbish in my garden that I pick up every Sunday morning. As I have said before litter and fly tipping on the estates creates an air of neglect which attracts further rubbish and then things begin to look run down.

There is a load of timber which has been dumped behind the electric sub station which I reported to the council a few weeks ago, but nothing has been done so far. On Monday I asked some Amey operatives who were emptying the waste bins in the street if they would move it, but they said it would be Herefordshire Housing's responsibility. Herefordshire Housing estate manager obviously doesn't do a regular walkabout otherwise he would have seen this. This is the rubbish the kids are throwing around every day.

My partner waited for the 14.24 and 14.39 74 service from Newton Farm to city centre on Thursday 28th March - neither turned up.

Article in this weeks Hereford Journal:

I thought I would tell you of my complaint to First Group concerning the 74 bus service:

Sent 16th February

"Experienced the local bus service last night. We arrived at 9.55pm to catch the 10.05pm departure from the bus station at Tesco, along with 12 other passengers, to travel on the 74 service to Newton Farm - which then failed to arrive. We would have to wait another hour for the next bus at 11.05pm which together with the travelling time of 15mins to Newton Farm meant that we would have got home nearly one and half hours later. Not a good advert for using buses. This happens quite regularly on this service and the £6.70 taxi fare didn't help either".

 

First Group acknowledged 17th February:

"Thank you for contacting us. We aim to respond to all enquiries within 14 working days, but hope to respond sooner. If you have not heard from us within this time, please accept our apologies and contact us by phone on the number shown on our website".

 

First Group replied 25th February:

"Thank you for contacting First and I apologise for the delay in getting back to you

 

Your comments have been passed to the Depot Manager for investigation where the service will be looked into and the driver concerned identified and interviewed. As soon as we have had a response, we will be in touch as soon as possible. This can take 7-10 working days".

 

Follow up reply 20th March:

Thank you for your contact regarding the issue you faced with the No.74 service on 16 February and I apologise for the delay in my response.

 

Running our buses on time is one of our key priorities as it is vitally important that customers are able to plan their journey knowing that their service will arrive as advertised in the timetable. We are working strenuously to reduce delays and have intensified our monitoring processes to identify late or early running buses and understand underlying causes. Our buses also benefit from a remote satellite tool so that we can properly monitor their movements and take corrective action to ensure adherence to the timetable.

 

Having re-investigated your comments with the depot, they have checked the records onboard the vehicle and confirm that on the date in question, the driver was still issuing tickets in the Bus Station at 2204hrs and has not left the stop before the scheduled time of 2205hrs. On this occasion, we are unable to uphold your complaint".

 

My response 24th March:

Thank you for your reply which was rather disappointing. I can assure you that myself and at least 12 other people were waiting for that last bus on the night in question. However in view that the computer says the bus was standing in the bus station at the correct time it must have been a ghost bus!

 

I cannot be bothered to continue arguing the toss with your company and accept that your company will continue to run the Hereford 74/74A bus service as you see fit and not for the benefit of your customers.

 

Thank you

 

Martin Gilleland

 

PS: My partner returned from Malvern on Thursday 21st March had to wait for 74 bus for nearly an hour between 3.30pm and 4.30pm before getting home.

Does anyone else experience missing buses from the timetable?

How did it get under the iron bridge on the Belmont Road? must of been very close

The traffic reports said the load was 16ft 1in high. If you google street view the belmont road bridge advance warning sign states

16ft maximum. So there must have been a margin for error.

Quote

I have been thinking of a few idea's especially about a paper petition, think they run separately, however, I think we can still join the numbers.

The council will accept paper petitions as well as the e-petition. It is useful to note the qualifying people who can sign these.

E-Petitions Guidance

An ePetition can be submitted by a person of any age who lives, works or studies in Herefordshire or has used services provided by Herefordshire Council.

To submit an ePetition you will need to be a registered user. Registration is a simple process that just requires you to provide us with a few details in case we need to contact you about the ePetition.

Can I still submit a paper petition?

Yes, you can still submit paper petitions. A petition may also gather names and addresses in both forms - you can have a paper version and an online version, although repeat names will be removed. Both forms should run for the same period of time and must be submitted together. When submitting an ePetition request, please let us know if you are running a paper petition as well and this can be highlighted on the website.

Printable petition template here:

Colin, traffic in Belmont Road will have an amount of outside drivers just passing through the city. These people do not qualify to sign the petitions - even though they would benefit if the lights are turned off. The majority of traffic is local based, so we need to concentrate on the locals and this is where the paper petitions would score.

There are only two months left so we need to get together and boost the numbers. Would any of the local shops take the petition, can we not target the school runs, the kids nurseries, large workplaces, the pubs and town centre. Do you think we could get together and do this Colin. Any other volunteers?

A simple issue like housing for example. These people arrive and there are no houses for them to live in and so when they do get a Council home or Rented accommodation it's turned into an *** and you end up with a house containing twenty or more people who can't get proper housing.

 

The knock on effect with just this single issue is that this *** generates twenty or so bin bags which means the Refuse Collection staff have to work harder to service that one single dwelling.

Have you seen this video of an american professor lecturing students regarding arithmetic, population and energy. The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function. He explains all.

Vote UKIP. The problem with this country is that we all hope things will get better, but over my voting life, all that happens is that the ruling parties take more from you and give less back.

Regarding private householders it is important that those affected by this graffiti contact the police and get a crime number. This will help them make a claim on their household insurance. The more crime numbers issued, the greater the problem will be seen in the area, and logged on the Police website here:

Hello Colin and a Happy New Year.

Being thinking about your petition and would like to know that if there was a paper petition running parallel with the council's on-line petition would these signatures be added on to it, or do the council go on the numbers recorded only on their website. I say this because I notice that 1001 people in Ross on Wye have signed on-line for the Pool relocation. The petition ran from 22/10/2012 to 05/12/2012 less than 2 months. Did their local councillors get behind them?

I think we need to organise a petition in High Town to get our numbers up. Also we should target the major employers and get them to sign up. Any thoughts?