megilleland

Taken from this post: Westminster Council Tax for 2013/14 Band A £453.83 Band B £529.47 Band C £605.10 Band D £680.74 Band E £832.01 Band F £983.29 Band G £1,134.57 Band H £1,361.48 Herefordshire Council Tax for 2013/14 Band A £1,014.50 Band B £1,183.56 Band C £1,352.66 Band D £1,521.74 Not sure why this figure is different to Hereford Times report as I have got this figure from the HC website? Band E £1,859.91 Band F £2,198.08 Band G £2,536.23 Band H £3,043.48

And also at Herefordshire Housing: Following their new corporate image change more expenditure at HQ.

Posted in How many empty shops in Hereford see post 3 In the Hereford Times (p2, 26th December edition): "Receivers have been appointed to Hereford's Maylord shopping centre with existing tenants facing an investigation into their occupancy rights"

I think they could be for flying standards of the undemocratic republics of the Council and Stanhope. Maybe it's harking back to the good old days when you put your foes severed head on a pike and displayed it as a warning to others. Look out Bobby!

The decision to step down, said Mr Curtis, had been driven by “flourishing†business ventures beyond the NHS that were making increasing demands on his time. Another nasty rash of departures!

Interesting document worth reading with 29 case studies. Notice that Herefordshire Council is not mentioned in this report, but may not have been in the original consultation group. LOCAL AUTHORITY HERITAGE ASSETS: CURRENT ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES Report to English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund By Green Balance with Grover Lewis Associates Ltd What with English Heritage saying that the Working Boys was not worth listing and the council not being consulted or interested in this report, no wonder there is little hope of saving any of the city's heritage for the future.

23 days to opening!

Thanks for clarifying.

Went down to have a good look. Here are some photos:

Here you are Dippy. From Hereford Times - Friday 1st November 2013 in Letters I have saved the comments in case HT remove this letter.

Here you are Dippy. From Hereford Times - Friday 1st November 2013 in Letters I have saved the comments in case HT remove this letter.

From the Hereford Times - Your Say March 20th 2014: All the relevant agencies are turning a blind eye to the litter and waste problem. You just go round in circles. About time these managers walked around these estates and saw the mess.

A fine building adding interest to the street scene, better than a car park!

From the Hereford Times - Your Say March 20th 2014: The council tax increase is not modest when I have to pay £119 a month for a pi*% poor service. Any financial improvements are usually only for the benefit of the council and its private contractors!

From the Hereford Times - Your Say March 20th 2014: Hereford Council is in on this. A very good letter should have highlighted it all.

From the Hereford Times - Your Say March 20th 2014: Not cut and dried then?

Interesting article from The Guardian, Friday 21 March 2014 12.25 GMT by Richard Williams Good job Herefordshire Council aren't involved - it would turned into another car park. And another letter regarding local skate park in Hereford Times - Your Say March 20th 2014: Does that mean the total costs are going to be around £4,583,333 or have I got my maths wrong? You could easily of had a Velodrome for this sort of money. Or is it £550,00 total cost - not clear.

From the Hereford Times - Your Say March 20th 2014:

From the Hereford Times - Your Say March 20th 2014: Balfour Beatty have got the contract to repair the roads over the next 10 years. With the government awarding the council an additional £3.5M to help with the road damage caused by the recent floods, plus £20M the council announced last month which will be used over the next two years to address underlying deterioration and prevent roads from deteriorating further in future years, are we going to see this money siphoned off or creatively accounted towards the Link Road. I hope not! and I wonder where he called to see Balfou Beatty - I'll contact him. Great tips on how get the rubbish removed as a last resort. and I think so.

What are the minimum requirements? Where were the two sites rejected? Since this date what other sites have been being considered, other than Bath Street, which I assume is the existing site referred above? In view that Marcelle Lloyd-Hayes (IOC - Tupsley ward) and Bob Matthews (Independent - Credenhill) are Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Authority Members, has Cllr Mark Hubburd (IOC - Central ward) got together with them and Jim Kenyon (IOC - Tupsley ward) to discuss what is going on?

Mark. So your saying there is no alternative scheme?

And of course the Belmont Pub which was demolished for McDonalds.

Should the link road be built, the bus station site would give easier access to Edgar Street for fire vehicles to go north or south of the river.

What's all this about? How can the council be saving money if it is proposing to extend FCC's contract by seven years. Paying less, but for a longer period. Surely another contractor could offer a better price to cover the existing collections. After all the waste is collected everyday in Spain and they do not use black bags. They have large bins located on the collection routes and people put their waste in them preventing vermin and litter on the streets. They also act as public waste bins.

From the Agenda (page 109 onwards) for the meeting of the Hereford & Worcester Fire Authority Policy and Resources Committee 26 March 2014 Conference Suites 1, 2 & 3 Headquarters, 2 Kings Court, Charles Hastings Way, Worcester WR5 1JR Councillors: Mr K Taylor (Chairman), Mr R Adams (Vice-Chairman), Mr A Amos, Mr P Gretton, Mr A Hardman, Mrs R Jenkins, Brigadier P Jones CBE, Mrs M Lloyd-Hayes, Mrs F Oborski, Mr D Prodger MBE, Mr D Taylor, Mr P Tuthill and Mr R Udall. item 14. Asset Management Strategy : Hereford Fire Station pages 109 - 112 To advise the Policy and Resources Committee of a proposed arrangement to provide the new fire Station in Hereford and seek approval to proceed with this project through to completion. The appendix to this report includes exempt information. If there is to be a discussion of the details in the appendix the Committee will be asked first to make the following resolution: Exclusion of the Press and Public In the opinion of the Clerk to the Authority the meeting will not be, or is not likely to be open to the public at the time item 14 is considered for the following reason: Item 14 is likely to disclose information relating to the financial or business affairs of the Authority Report of Head of Asset Management 14. Asset Management Strategy: Hereford Fire Station Purpose of report 1. To advise the Policy and Resources Committee of a proposed arrangement to provide a new fire station in Hereford and seek approval to proceed with this project through to completion. Recommendations It is recommended that: i) the Policy and Resources Committee approve the proposed arrangement between Herefordshire Council and the Fire Authority to provide a new fire station in Hereford; and ii) that the Policy and Resources Committee authorise the Chief Fire Officer to proceed with the project to completion, on terms to be agreed with the Treasurer and Head of Legal Services and in consultation with the Chairman of the Fire Authority. Introduction and Background 2. Members will be aware that in March 2011, the Policy and Resources Committee gave approval for indicative budget allocations to replace a number of fire stations as part of an overall Asset Management Strategy. A summary of the indicative allocation for the replacement of Hereford fire station approved at that committee is given in the appendix to this document. 3. In November 2013, the Policy and Resources Committee were informed about a project to deliver a new fire station in Hereford at Herefordshire Council’s Bath Street offices site in Hereford. The site is an ideal location as available space for the size of site required for operational resources is limited in Hereford, it is well placed to respond to risk in the city, and being very near to the current location, the availability of Retained Duty System officers mobilising to the new site will be acceptable. 4. The Policy and Resources Committee authorised the Chief Fire Officer to carry on with negotiations with Herefordshire Council, to move the project forward and agreed to spend part of the previously allocated budget on work to take the project to planning approval stage. The Policy and Resources Committee were also advised that a further paper, including a detailed cost feasibility would be brought back for final approval before entering into a contract for the acquisition of the site. Current position 5. Following detailed discussions with Herefordshire Council, the principles for the project to proceed have been established as part of the development of the draft Heads of Terms. These reflect a proposed land swap and associated works costs which balance the valuations of both sites, which were independently evaluated by the District Valuer in October 2013. Essentially, there is a land swap of the two sites, but in addition to the demolition of the existing building in Bath Street and the construction of the new fire station, the Authority will hand back part of the Bath Street site on completion of the construction of the Fire Station for use by Herefordshire Council’s staff. 6. Herefordshire Council will acquire the freehold of the current Fire Station site at the same time that the Authority will aquire the freehold of the current Bath Street Council Offices. A lease-back arrangement will exist between both parties so that the Fire Station can still be occupied by fire service staff as the new fire station is being built. The financial consideration for this rental period will reflect the cost of the demolition of the current fire station, which will balance the overall differences between the valuations. 7. Herefordshire Council Executive members have approved the proposal in principle and should formally approve the project towards the end of March. The Bath Street site is part of a conservation area, but the buildings are not Listed. English Heritage have confirmed that the offices will not be listed in the future. Considerable interest and representations have been made by the Hereford Civic Society, who are not supportive of the proposal. Herefordshire Council has undertaken a Heritage Impact Assessment which indicates the council offices on Bath Street to be of low historic/architectural value. This has been shared with the Planning Service. Pre-application advice has been taken by the H&WFRS and the preliminary desgns for the new fire station are due to be taken through the planning approval process in April 2014. Financial Considerations 8. The arrangement between Herefordshire Council and our Authority is structured so that the only financial outlay to enable the project to proceed consists of three parts: * the cost of demolition of the Bath Street site; * the cost of building the new fire station on that site; and * the cost of demolishing the current fire station. 9. As all of these elements are subject to a tender process and are therefore commercially sensitive, a detailed cost estimate is set out in the exempt appendix. The Committee can be assured that the current cost estimate for all of these elements sits comfortably within the overall project estimate, which has previously received Policy and Resources Committee approval. 10. If the planning application is successful and Herefordshire Council formally approve the proposal, there should be no further barriers to the project proceeding. There is a possibility that recommendations coming from the planning process may increase the overall cost of the scheme, for example because of enhanced treatments to the exterior of the building. It is hoped that if this is the case, the overall cost of the project will still be contained within the previously advised estimate. 11. It is therefore requested that the Policy and Resources Committee agree to the format of this proposal and authorise the Chief Fire Officer to proceed with this scheme to full conclusion to provide a new fire station in Hereford. Conclusion/Summary 12. It is recommended that the Policy and Resources Committee approve the proposed arrangement between Herefordshire Council and the Authority to provide a new fire station in Hereford and that the Policy and Resources Committee authorise the Chief Fire Officer to proceed with the project to completion, on terms to be agreed with the Treasurer and Head of Legal Services, in consultation with the Chair of the Fire Authority. Corporate Considerations Resource Implications (identify any financial, legal, property or human resources issues) As a Capital Project and an agreement between Authorities, the paper refers to a number of Financial, Property and Legal items. Strategic Policy Links (identify how proposals link in with current priorities and policy framework and if they do not, identify any potential implications). The Asset Management Strategy supports ‘Our Strategy’ on the foundations of ‘Buildings and Infrastructure’. Risk Management / Health & Safety (identify any risks, the proposed control measures and risk evaluation scores). All capital projects are managed within the CDM 2007 regulations. Consultation (identify any public or other consultation that has been carried out on this matter) Consultation is undertaken as part of the planning approval process. Equalities (has an Equalities Impact Assessment been completed? If not, why not?) No – this will be considered at the appropriate time. Supporting Information: Appendix 1 – EXEMPT INFORMATION Background papers – Policy and Resources Committee 19 November 2013 Contact Officer Ian Edwards, Head of Asset Management (01905 368360) Email: Iedwards@hwfire.org.uk