Chris Chappell

Local polic and CSOs often in front of ASDA, but not on a regular advertised way. The CSO based at The Hereford Academy is there for the students primarily. She hears the problems and worries of young people and their families and is doing a great job. Nothing new in this, happens in many secondary schools and colleges. The community police and CSOs are around all of the time in South Wye, sometimes on their bikes, sometimes in a car. They work closely with community groups and Councillors. In and out of the schools, community centres and arrears where people feel vulnerable, play areas and local shops.

I want the cops on the street, not brewing tea waiting for someone to come to the desk to complain the cat is stuck up the tree. There are so many ways of contacting cops, phone, email etc that we do not need a guy waiting for something to happen. In South Wye we have a CSO based at The Hereford Academy during term time, while several times a week they appear at ASDA. There has'nt been someone on the desk 12 hours a day a South Wye police station for years. Hereford Hospital has a police desk, but no one seems to use it. With very little crime compared to most other places in the country, I think it is a waste of money to have all front desk personed.

Hi Guys, my information is that the company is based in Hampshire but the bins will be made at its German base. The normal tendering process will have been gone through and will be open for the external auditors to examine should there be a complaint. As to what you do with your bin when you get one, I can think of a number of things but let's not go there!

I will be seeking the views of residents in Belmont Road on how they feel about not being able to park their cars outside their homes, or for that matter anywhere close by! From the bridge to Pool Farm, it is not wide enough to put a bus lane even with the cars no longer parked there. I have told Jesse!

Police were in Homestead at 3am this morning flashing lights into the bedrooms of the elderly and infirm. My phone started to ring fairly early as you can imagine. Apparently they were looking for someone on a red bike!!

Although roads and pavements are treated as Highways, they have different work schedular and it is a coincidence that so many pavements being repaired at same time as roads. That said RossRoad pavement belongs to HA. I hope they will not leave the surface near the Hinton Community Centre in the state it is in now! I have never had a complaint about this pavement, it is further up, other side of traffic lights that need repair.

Yes Hitman, so that's spoilt it for twowheelsgood. As one of the neighbours has discovered, we were telling truth when we said it will take approx two years. But on the list now and being processed. Problem is residents parking in one area, means more cars parking in another! Those residents may not like it!! Needs to be a better resolution than that.

A contract was signed yesterday for RTR to move to the Governors House in May. This has many advantages not least that it is by the bus station, close to rail station and proper crossings for the safety of users. May I take the opportunity to thank all of you who have expressed your concern about RTR and the Users. Bobby, Two wheels etc your assistance was valued! I am meeting so many people with Learning Difficulties who are such a joy to be with. Yesterday I met with the guys who are going to start up the Our News Our Views newspaper again. Entirely run by adults with learning difficulties with a little help from someone they pay from their individual payments. They have very little money and I have sign posted them to the end of the rainbow but if you know of any spare cash.........! . If you come across any individual or their carer who you feel may need my assistance please let me know. Kind regards, Chris

If you look on the Council's web site and look at Cabinet members decisions you will see that the decision to sell to the HWF&RS will be made formally on April 14th. I would hope that scrutiny would call in this decision!!

I will be with Bob and together I hope we can get the present plan altered. At our request Amey came to fill in the holes on the new bridge by St Nicholas Street. All they did was tip a little Tarmac in the holes. I went past at 9am and knew by 4pm it would be out again, it was. Bob and I will raise this too.

It is true that they have been given extended time. There are plenty of alternatives close to the City centre, bus and rail station,but almost all want a commercial rent which regretfully neither RTR or Echo it's parent charity have. RTR have to be as close to centre of City as possible to allow their clients to get there easily. I met with Echo CE on Friday who is very positive and I am opptomistic that RTR will survive. Aparently Cllr Powell has not recievd any letters from the public about this so it is over to you! I always believe that nothing is impossible and being positive is worth far more than negative. There is a way of achieving everything! Kind regards

Hi Guys To bring you up to date. Have got all sorts of people looking into this with Jesse going to look mid April. This place is ideal as users come from across the county and Tan Brook is near the station and bus station. So if RTR have to leave it needs to be somewhere close to City centre. Have a cunning plan!! I have met with CE of Echo and will also discuss again Friday as well as senior officer. Hopefully have a result next week. Kind regards, Chris

Visited on Thursday, very impressed. Took Council Chairman there couple of hours later who was also impressesed. Told Jesse Norman to visit so he is going to visit soon. Made a statement for press release and BBC Hfd & Worcester phone me to say something on radio. So let's keep up the pressure. I am hopeful to get this sorted fairly soon!

Hi dippyhippy, Sorry not to get back to you sooner. Please ask these people to contact me via my council eaddress. I will do what I can to help. Kind regards.

Hi Dippy, Am already working with Sean. I needed to look at DCs run for Adults with Learning Difficulties so he showed me round the DCs in Leominster, been to Widemarsh and will be looking at Day Centres in Ross when I find time. Bobby has hit on something I am very passionate about and that is the need for DCs for people with physical, mental and learning difficulties. Sitting at home doing nothing is not good for anyone let alone if you have a disability. Mind they have to be run properly, with plenty to do for the clients who attend. There are some great DCs in the county, some run by the council, some by charities. Most are worth having a fight over to keep open.

Hi bobby47, Have sent an email to an officer to find out what is happening and just off phone from arranging to visit Rose Tinted Rags on Thursday at 10am. Not going to promise I will be able to do anything as promises are easy to break, but will do my best to get something sorted if a move is inevitable. Thanks for letting me know about Rose Tinted Rags, they had slipped under my radar. Anyone else reading this who knows of a centre for adults with learning difficulties that I may not have been told of, please let me know. Best wishes bobby hope we meet up sometime. Chris

Hi can you let me have an email or mobile number for them please. I will make contact ASAP and if unable to stop Tam Brook closing then try to find somewhere else for these guys to go.

Good Morning Everyone, Unfortunately the Council did not have much say over the disposal of Blackfriars. Many of Council owned/rented buildings are very costly to run and with more and more staff needing to hot desk, and because LA, NHS and occasionally others need to work together, it is easier to have fewer buildings better equipped. Blackfriars was an awful building to run with lots of open spaces to heat, make a great school!! So it became surplus to requirements before the Free school came to mind. The government can dictate to every LA which building it requires to be handed over to a Free school provider. Herefordshire did fight against the idea but lost. Blackfriars now belongs to the government. The Robert Owen Group are not able to sell the buildings. They will revert back to the government who most likely will hand back to LA. Students from across the World will come backwards and forwards to the county as will non students and businesses connected to the uni. There has been a plan to have a university for many years but nothing solid till now. The ESG plan and it's successors, was a 25year plan of regeneration of which the OMS was first part. The link road and the area round it is next, Canel Road/Jewson opening up the old canal comes after that. The original plan was to have live/work units for the Art College around the opened up canal area! No plan worth having is ever static, so much of this plan has either changed or stopped altogether. Hopefully our children will come up with ways of progressing the county's economy in years to come.

Hope I can help. It is the government that has told the council to hand over any redundant buildings to the Free school. The council has no say over the matter other than to say what redundant buildings they have. Official council policy, and one I totally agree with, is opposition to the Robert Owen School. However we have a duty of care to the students and therefore there is some involvement. The government are paying for the refurbishment of Blackfriars and when it is finished will hand it over to the Free School, lock stock and thingy! When the Free School fails the government are likely to pass these buildings back to the LA! The New University is a completely different organisation and has the backing not just of the council but industry, schools & colleges. It is unlikely that there will ever be 5000 students in the county at one time. As it is a specialist university,a lot of the students will be doing their learning at specialist businesses and two US universities have also signed up. There is unlikely to be the need for a campus as we use to know them.

Good afternoon, Jenny Lewis. Is going to Hampshire to head HR for the county council, police and fire service. She leaves in June. I understand that her current position will be reviewed and a decision made as to whether her current post will change or not shortly.

Herefordshire is some way behind with its provision of care for adults who have learning difficulties. At the end of last year, the council's scrutiny committee told Cllr Graham Powell to appoint an 'Advocate' for this group of vulnerable people. I was asked to take on this role and have been busy since then trying to understand how we in Herefordshire got so behind. Until I retired recently, I was a care worker, and I also have a close relative who has learning difficulties so I have some experience. I am currently visiting day centres, speaking to care providers, etc. I need the public, you, to let me know if you have come across any problems, if you have a relative who has learning difficulties and has experienced difficulties. I am a great believer in communication and information gathering but if I do not know of a problem I may not be able to solve it. If I am to hold the council to account, and adults with learning difficulties to hold me to account for them, I need to hear from everyone one who believes they have a contribution to make. Hereford Voice is a great way to get information out, to hear people's views, swap ideas and get a feel for a situation. Hope you can help me help a vulnerable group of people who often get overlooked when budgets are set!

Hi everyone, It is difficult to compare Worcestersgire with Herefordshire. Herefordshire has twice the miles of roads to Worcestershire. But when it comes to road maintenance, it is even more difficult to compare. Worcestershire has district councils who will look after the B & C roads in their area. The county council will be responsible only for their A roads and then only those not trunk roads. Highways Agency look after the rest. It might be better to look at comparisons with Shropshire County Council. Hope this helps.

I have asked for a full costing to the economy of Rotherwas as well as cost to road repair. However the access road probably saved any great cost to the economy's would suggest. The draft plan for the length of Holme Lacy Road shows traffic lights under the bridge so probably most vans and lorries will use the access road only then. It may be argued that the present road closure would not be that different.

No, this is renewing the existing lease. There is a covenant on the ground which states it can only be used for leisure, sports games by the people of Hereford. The ground was left to the Council for the leisure of the people of Hereford by Miss Chave who also owned Moor House. The council can not sell it for any other reason.

I have asked and am waiting for the answer about the cost