John Harrington

Ah,o.k.Ta Denise.

Hi Aylestone, thanks for the rapid response and info (and apologies to dippy myself for going off thread). With regard to my second question I just feel that if it is the norm or common enough practice for planning officers, who I believe are generally people of integrity doing a thankless task, to take up jobs with the very building firms whose applications the may have previously adjudicated on I feel it might (might) encourage officers to look more kindly on potential future employers? Perhaps a cooling off period of a few years might be a better idea or a geographical caveat ie/no local planners allowed to work for builders in the county/authority they previously worked for. Just a thought. Sorry Dippy!

Hi Aylestone Voice, I agree that planning officers do a bloody difficult job with no thanks and are often over ruled or disparaged by councillors but do you really think they take personal comments and slights (perceived or blatant) into consideration when the consider applications? On a related subject is there any truth in the rumour (anyone) that a former member of Herefordshire Council's Planning dept has gone to work for Bloor Homes? I suppose there is no reason why a planning officer who's supposed to have spent his career being objective shouldn't go and work for a mass house builder of the most generic kind but it would, if there was any truth in it, leave a very unpleasant taste in the mouth, would it not. I've always liked the idea of planning officers being particular, awkward and independent rather than with half an eye on a second career. Once again, this is only a rumour but would pose an interesting question of ethics if there was any substance to it.

Hi Aylestone Voice, I agree that planning officers do a bloody difficult job with no thanks and are often over ruled or disparaged by councillors but do you really think they take personal comments and slights (perceived or blatant) into consideration when the consider applications? On a related subject is there any truth in the rumour (anyone) that a former member of Herefordshire Council's Planning dept has gone to work for Bloor Homes? I suppose there is no reason why a planning officer who's supposed to have spent his career being objective shouldn't go and work for a mass house builder of the most generic kind but it would, if there was any truth in it, leave a very unpleasant taste in the mouth, would it not. I've always liked the idea of planning officers being particular, awkward and independent rather than with half an eye on a second career. Once again, this is only a rumour but would pose an interesting question of ethics if there was any substance to it.

And perhaps delete my multiple requests for deletion. I'm going, having a bad day!

Or just delete the post Colin as I have repasted in corrected thread.

Ah, thanks Dippy. I wondered what the **** had happened to it. I blamed the technology but it was operator error once again. Will repost below: Save Our City 13 March at 20:27 I'd like to share this email I've just sent a concerned friend who is singing, from off the same hymn sheet…& it goes something like this…Hi Gareth Thank you I must admit that I do not wish to see either building demolished so if we can save one then the likely hood is we will save both? As I think the fire station has massive potential for conversion? Even thou its life as a working fire station is over?!The council have acted appalling in the way they have treated HWFRS which in affect could have serious implications on lives? For start HWFRS do not want bath street as a site but the council have refused them on two good locations as I understand! Last Thursday I decided to ring HWFRS head office in worcester to speak with the chief fire officer of the region, unfortunately he was unavalible but his nice PA took my details & said she would get him to call me back! Within an hour I received a call however it was not the fire chief but there lawyer nice chap. In the conversation that follow he tried to convince me that the building was falling down but I wasn't having any of it, as I can clearly see it isn't only living 150 meters away I look @ it virtually every day! He asked if I had noticed the scaffolding to which I replied it was gone & had been for sometime.about a year I think & not that I have ever seen anybody doing any work to the building apart from the scaffolders removing scaffold! He was surprised then asked if I knew why it was there to which I replied no, well he said bits where falling off to which I said no they weren't. The conversation moved on, I then suggest the bus station as a alternative site & to move the bus station next to the railway station? His reply shocked me he said they had looked @ it & indeed he agreed with me that it was a good site & location but the council had refused to let them have it? He then started to back track saying they wouldn't be able to have a frontage??? But in fact they could have a frontage it would be on union walk & they could wrap it around the old custom house which is on union walk??& I think the council should give them it or any land that they feel is in the right location! After all they gave Stanhope the old market for free & that had been valued @ £30 million! Then HWFRS could convert there old place & any money they make could be put back into saving firemen's jobs & lives??? It's just a thought! Thanks Michael ps apologise for grammar spelling etc

Michael Hayes who has been doing a superb job getting the message out about the Working Boys Home and who has set up the facebook Save Our City page has asked me to paste this e-mail for Dippy and all to read: Save Our City 13 March at 20:27 I'd like to share this email I've just sent a concerned friend who is singing, from off the same hymn sheet…& it goes something like this…Hi Gareth Thank you I must admit that I do not wish to see either building demolished so if we can save one then the likely hood is we will save both? As I think the fire station has massive potential for conversion? Even thou its life as a working fire station is over?!The council have acted appalling in the way they have treated HWFRS which in affect could have serious implications on lives? For start HWFRS do not want bath street as a site but the council have refused them on two good locations as I understand! Last Thursday I decided to ring HWFRS head office in worcester to speak with the chief fire officer of the region, unfortunately he was unavalible but his nice PA took my details & said she would get him to call me back! Within an hour I received a call however it was not the fire chief but there lawyer nice chap. In the conversation that follow he tried to convince me that the building was falling down but I wasn't having any of it, as I can clearly see it isn't only living 150 meters away I look @ it virtually every day! He asked if I had noticed the scaffolding to which I replied it was gone & had been for sometime.about a year I think & not that I have ever seen anybody doing any work to the building apart from the scaffolders removing scaffold! He was surprised then asked if I knew why it was there to which I replied no, well he said bits where falling off to which I said no they weren't. The conversation moved on, I then suggest the bus station as a alternative site & to move the bus station next to the railway station? His reply shocked me he said they had looked @ it & indeed he agreed with me that it was a good site & location but the council had refused to let them have it? He then started to back track saying they wouldn't be able to have a frontage??? But in fact they could have a frontage it would be on union walk & they could wrap it around the old custom house which is on union walk??& I think the council should give them it or any land that they feel is in the right location! After all they gave Stanhope the old market for free & that had been valued @ £30 million! Then HWFRS could convert there old place & any money they make could be put back into saving firemen's jobs & lives??? It's just a thought! Thanks Michael ps apologise for grammar spelling etc

I remember the Belmont Colin. Only went in there twice though. First time this drunk couple were having a huge domestic which went on for some time until the bloke disappeared and returned with a huge bunch of May blossom off the Hawthorn hedges along the road (quite romantic even with the thorns included in the bouquet and the red spots of blood from his scratched hands on the petals). The second time some guys were using the 3/4 sized bowling alley and having a great laugh until the landlord kicked them out...they were overarm bowling every shot! Must admit I did enjoy the atmosphere!

Ooops!

Has anyone else noticed that despite the Council and the Hereford Times stating there will still be two lanes in each direction after reporting the stretch would be reduced to a single carriageway there only appears to be one lane going eastwards whilst two westwards towards the Steels roundabout? Perhaps they settled on a compromise. P.s. Spotted a tied up tree. There are about 8-10.

Can we not have a whip around and still make this happen Bobby?! Cheered me up no end!

It will wind (ignite more like) Patricia up! You are a tad gullible dippy. I went on Vistaprint and did it up very quickly. We should take orders though for the next blogger bash. Right I'm out of here, night night campers.

Only a fiver each. Sorry guys, back on topic now. BTW dippyhippy, Michael Hayes who's set up the Save Our City fb page dedicated to raising awareness of the Working Boy's Home is trying to post on here but can't at present. Have a look at his page.

I'll buy 10 Bobby For King shirts! Or For King Bobby shirts, 3 for me and 7 for Patricia to sleep in every night of the week.

Actually I'm probably getting a little unfairly personal and I don't know the man so we'll scrap the T Shirts. He probably means well and is a nice guy in real life but his name does seem to crop up an awful lot around contentious issues. This may be as a result of his position in the Council rather than because he's driving any agenda. Who knows...that's the point I suppose. We just don't know who does what!

And obviously by 'love' I meant something else.

We love Geoff Hughes T-Shirts! Only problem is, do we have a photo?

Gawd Lord, ol Geoffers again! The man who told his Conservation Officers he was disregarding their advice not to lop the trees down because they fell within a Conservation Area. He disregarded their advice on advice he got from a advisor (of the legal advice kind) but declined to tell us what that advice was. And technically he doesn't have to because FOI requests can be refused on the basis that legal advice may remain secret advice. Ah well, the chickens will come home to roost.

About the LEPs, not the ginger beer.

To be fair I'm not sure dippy but I do wonder sometimes.

Twowheels, you've highlighted the point exactly. Like HF's various feeds the LEP site is out of date because it's effectively just a cover story...essentially. And no one can even be bothered to maintain the fabric of the facade.

Of course we'll take ginger beer dippy!

Christ!

Cheers megilleland. The LEPs are an absolutely surreal,intangible phenomenon. We came across them trying to work out who exactly had chosen the Edgar St Pinch Point site. The bizarre thing is they hardly seem to exist except on paper. The sec of the Marches LEP wrote a letter saying they had nothing to do with the Pinch Point Scheme on Edgar St. The Council said they had nothing to do with the siting. The Highways agency said the LEP and Local Transport Authority chose the site! The secretary also said she was only in the office part time. I doubt the Marches LEP consists of anything more than a room (or desk) at the address listed as it's co-ordinating office at the Shirehall in Shrewsbury, which is Shropshire Council's HQ. All the LEPs seem to be are ghost ships set up to remove accountability in local governance! Anyone up for a trip to their HQ? Shrewsbury is lovely and we could take sandwiches and look through the glass partition of the locked room with dust on the desk that serves as the Marches LEP's main hub!