July 2007

Herefordshire Council and its partner Herefordshire Jarvis Services are now carrying out this year's main surface dressing programme to the county’s roads.

Herefordshire Council has come to an agreement with Halo leisure centres over providing easily accessible changing places for people who cannot use standard accessible toilets.

Sainsbury’s in Barton Road, Hereford, has become the first supermarket to sign up to Herefordshire Council’s Streetscene campaign to keep the county clean.

Herefordshire Council is working with Wildplay to take lots of exciting play-based activities into the Golden Valley and Ross areas over the summer holidays.

Herefordshire Council has confirmed that it had stopped work on the Rotherwas Relief Road around the Rotherwas Ribbon since the archaeological find was discovered, and is taking steps to preserve it for future generations.

Archaeology is the focus of a new exhibition at Hereford Museum and Art Gallery running until September 3.

Works to pump out water from Hampton Bishop, a village to the east of Hereford which suffered severe flooding over the weekend, has now enabled the B4224 Mordiford and Hampton Bishop road to be re-opened.

Hereford motorists will soon be able to benefit from 60 extra car parking spaces in the city centre after Herefordshire Council reached agreement with the landowner to manage the facility.

Herefordshire Council is advising motorists that an area of the Wye Street car park will be closed off to vehicles because of work being carried out on the Belmont flood defences.

Herefordshire Council has been told that the government has earmarked £20million to transform Wyebridge Sports College in Hereford to a new state of the art academy by 2010.

A scheme to build 425 homes at Barons Cross Camp, Cholstrey, Leominster, was approved by Herefordshire Council’s northern area planning sub-committee on Wednesday, July 25.

Plans to demolish a residential care facility and build 12 affordable homes at Kingswood Hall, Kingswood Road, Kington, have been approved by Herefordshire Council’s northern area planning sub-committee meeting on July 25.

Planning permission for 15 new homes to be built on land at Croftmead, North Road, Kingsland, near Leominster, was approved by Herefordshire Council’s northern area planning sub-committee on July 25.

Herefordshire Council has reinforced the message that the road into Hampton Bishop is still closed while the Environment Agency and the Fire Service continues to pump floodwater out of the village.

Herefordshire schools are embarking on a huge clean up campaign after this weekend’s floods caused some of the worst damage experienced since 1947.

If homeowners in Herefordshire and Worcestershire need to urgently get rid of flood damaged furniture and carpets from their homes, they will be allowed to so at household waste sites without a commercial vehicle and trailer permit.

Children at Riverside Primary School were getting their hearts into shape last week and learning how to save lives.

Herefordshire Council continues to improve its environmental performance.

It has been confirmed that the last public consultation meeting on the creation of a public service trust is to go ahead tonight (Tuesday 24 July). Radical proposals to bring together how the primary care trust and the council plans and purchases public services will be discussed at the Three Counties Hotel, in Belmont in Hereford. The event starts at 7.30 pm.

The adverse weather conditions have resulted in Herefordshire Council having to cancel this afternoon’s planned visits to the Rotherwas Ribbon.

Government grants totalling £107,970 have been awarded to 22 Herefordshire schools to help them implement plans to cut down traffic congestion.

Herefordshire Council’s archaeology service celebrated its 100th historic landscape walk at Much Marcle, with guests enjoying a glass of cider or apple juice thanks to hosts Westons Cider.

Volunteer Master Composters have notched up 1,000 hours in promoting home composting throughout Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

The launch of Hereford’s Nappaccino Mornings at the new venue of The Courtyard Café proved a great success with lots of parents-to-be, mums, dads and even a granddad popping in to see all the new styles of real nappies.

Herefordshire Council’s dog warden service has launched a new internet-based service to help reunite lost dogs they have collected with their owners.

Herefordshire Council wants to remind residents help is at hand to ensure they can make excellent compost and that they don't give up if things go wrong.

Road information issued 26 July 2007

Motorists who have cars parked on Hereford’s Merton Meadow car park are being advised to move them urgently as the neighbouring brook has burst its banks and is beginning to flood the area.

The atrocious rain has resulted in Herefordshire Council having to cancel this afternoon’s planned visits to the Rotherwas Ribbon.

No road closures have been reported to Herefordshire Council this morning (Friday, July 20) because of flooding.

Work has begun on the construction of a new eco-friendly primary school at Sutton St Nicholas, Hereford.

One of the most important consultation programmes ever undertaken in Herefordshire will draw to a close on Tuesday 31 July. People across the county have debated radical proposals to bring together how the primary care trust and the council plans, purchases and designs all public services around the needs of individuals.

Hereford-based firm Thomas and Green has become one of the latest companies to sign up to the Rotherwas Travel Plan, a cost-cutting and environmentally friendly scheme promoted by Herefordshire Council.

A Herefordshire childminder is the first childcare practitioner in the county to gain the government’s Early Years Professional Status.

Pupils from Stoke Prior primary school launched the Big Wild Read in Herefordshire at Queenswood Country Park where they took part in a nature bingo competition and enjoyed two storytimes.

Herefordshire Council and its partner Herefordshire Jarvis Services are currently carrying out this year's main surface dressing programme to the county’s roads.

Herefordshire Council has set a weekend challenge for residents to look at the amount of fruit and vegetable peelings they produce and to consider composting these scraps instead of throwing them in their household bin.

Cadbury Ltd has been fined a total of £1 million by Birmingham Crown Court today (Monday 16 July 2007) after pleading guilty to offences under food and hygiene regulations.

Herefordshire Council has received another award for its values education programme.

The newly-appointed Minister of the West Midlands, Liam Byrne MP, has been invited to Herefordshire to see first hand the key issues affecting the county.

Decking to damp proofing, gardening to guttering, Herefordshire Council’s trading standards department is working in partnership with Consumer Direct West Midlands and has some top tips to help the county’s residents avoid getting caught out by the dodgy builder, the problematic plumbers and the range of people that may call at your door to offer to do the work at a bargain price.

Motorists using the busy A4103 next week (w/c Mon, July 16) are being advised that there may be delays at Fromes Hill as workmen will be carrying out repairs to safety barriers.

As the annual round of summer festivals returns to the county, Herefordshire Community Safety and Drugs Partnership is urging revellers to remember some important safety messages while they have fun.

Time is running out for community groups to access cash in Ross on Wye and surrounding HR9 area as the Community Pride Funding scheme enters its final year.

Construction works are due to start on a £7 million flood alleviation scheme for Ross-on-Wye in September.

Hereford’s new state-of-the-art crematorium in Westfaling Street has now been granted planning permission.

Aylestone and Queen Elizabeth High Schools have been given specialist status by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, bringing Herefordshire into the top twenty nationwide authorities able to boast 100% specialism.

Herefordshire Council has unveiled details of arrangements to allow more people to view the recently unearthed Rotherwas Ribbon.

The Big Lottery Fund has awarded Herefordshire over £300,000 for children’s play, thanks to a bid put together by Herefordshire Council.

Hereford’s St Thomas Cantilupe School will be the latest school in the county to have a 20mph zone.

Herefordshire Council is inviting the public to attend an exhibition to look at plans for possible speed reduction measures on the C1125 next to the new primary school site at Sutton St Nicholas.

Hereford’s Victoria Bridge refurbishment scheme has now been shortlisted for two national awards.

Staunton on Wye Primary School has been heralded as outstanding by Ofsted for the work it has done to incorporate green issues into the school’s curriculum.

There will be plenty to do for everyone this summer at Ross Heritage Centre.

Herefordshire, along with the rest of England, went smokefree on Sunday 1 July and Herefordshire Council can report receiving very few queries about the new law, and very few reports of non-compliance.

Newly-elected Herefordshire councillor Mark Hubbard has taken advantage of the new legislation where smoking is only allowed outside enclosed public places or in private homes and decided this would be the perfect time to stub out his own smoking habit.

Herefordshire libraries are staging a wealth of events to coincide with the launch of the Big Wild Read, this year’s Summer Reading Challenge.

Herefordshire Council continues to increase its efficiency in council tax collection - securing 98.4 per cent of tax owed in the last financial year. This equates to a total figure of £76.6 million and compares with the figure of 97.7 per cent for the previous year and with the average for unitary councils of 96.6 per cent.

Hereford’s Nappaccino mornings are being moved to a new venue at The Courtyard starting from Monday (July 16).

An exhibition by the New English Art Club is being held at Hereford Museum and Art Gallery, Broad Street, Hereford, from Saturday, July 14 until Wednesday, August 29.

Due to popular demand, Herefordshire Council is to organise a series of ‘open afternoons’ for the public to view the newly unearthed Rotherwas Ribbon – a Bronze Age surface of cracked stones discovered as a result of the construction of the Rotherwas relief road in Hereford.

A ribbon of fire-cracked stones carefully laid to form a surface and dating back to the same period as Stonehenge has been uncovered during the construction of a road in Herefordshire.

Herefordshire, along with the rest of England, went smokefree on Sunday, July 1.

Herefordshire Council welcomed the guilty plea from Cadbury Schweppes at Hereford Magistrates Court on Tuesday, July 3 to six specific charges against the company under food and hygiene regulations.

Children at Ashperton Primary School are bringing music to their classroom this week when the whole school spends the week enjoying a musical feast of activities themed around summer and the seaside.

Herefordshire Council’s county archaeological service is holding a special week of events from Saturday, July 21 until Saturday, July 28, where people can learn more about the county’s historic past.

The 100th monthly Herefordshire Archaeology historic landscape walk will be held next month.

Christmas is traditionally thought of as the time of year when the numbers of motorists found to be driving while over the drink drive limit is at its peak.