December 2008

Movies inspired by books is the theme of a free-to-enter competition being run by Herefordshire Council's library service in celebration of the 2008 National Year of Reading.

Herefordshire Council has fired the first shots in a battle to prevent telecom giant BT pulling the plug on a telephone box damaged by a tractor.

Herefordshire Council is paying its suppliers more quickly to help them manage their cash flow during the credit crunch.

Herefordshire Council has met its targets for recycling several months early. The council is now recycling or composting 34.2 per cent of domestic waste - the aim for the end of this financial year (31 March 2009) was to achieve 32 per cent.

More than 120 people celebrated the official opening of a new children's centre in Ledbury this week.

Anyone needing urgent dental treatment during normal opening hours over Christmas and the New Year period should contact their local dental surgery to arrange emergency treatment.

Services for children and young people in Herefordshire are getting better, according to the regulatory body Ofsted, which says that most areas of performance have improved.

The spirit of Christmas future has visited Hereford in the shape of new research that shows that the city's ESG retail development will increase annual spending in shops by 24 per cent to nearly £350 million by 2013.

NHS Herefordshire, the leader for health in the county, has issued advice on flu in the face of increased reports of the illness in the region.

A vision for how health and social care services could be better designed and provided in Herefordshire is likely to be firmed up in April 2009.

Herefordshire's school measurement programme is achieving greater coverage than ever before according to a National Child Measurement Report published this month.

Plans to form a training manege and rebuild a dilapidated shed at Brelston Court, Marstow, near Ross-on-Wye, were approved by members of the southern area planning sub-committee at their meeting on Wednesday, December 10.

Planning permission for the construction of an apple pressing barn and relocation of shop at Lyne Down Farm, Much Marcle, near Ledbury, was approved by members of the southern area planning sub-committee at their meeting on Wednesday, December 10.

Three key services which help people get the best out of the local health service in the county have moved to a new home in Hereford today (Thursday, December 11).

NHS Herefordshire, the leader for health in the county, has identified a preferred bidder to run Hereford's new GP-led walk-in health centre and an out-of-hours service, for people who need to see a GP urgently at night or before their surgery next opens.

Herefordshire Council's Old House Museum has been running a series of themed Jacobean evenings to coincide with the Christmas late-night opening of shops in Hereford city centre.

Herefordshire Council's smallholdings estate, which will help local people get on the first rung of the farming ladder, has received a boost.

Herefordshire Council has been helping cyclists in Ledbury to make sure they are safe and can be seen during the dark winter nights.

As the NHS heads into the busiest time, Herefordshire emergency services are already reporting increased numbers of patients calling 999 and attending the accident and emergency department.

More than 100 young people turned up to listen to local bands perform live at a big Red Ribbon Ball in Ledbury to raise awareness for World Aids Day.

Ian Charles Colwell of 13 Heath Street, Wyesham, Monmouth and former managing director of Complete Build (UK) Ltd., a company that has now since gone into liquidation, pleaded guilty at Worcester Crown Court on December 8 2008, to six charges under Section 14 of the Trade Description Act 1968, to recklessly making a false statement as to the provision of a service.

Hereford's Shire Hall glittered with tinsel, balloons and a Christmas tree on a cold foggy November night to welcome 300 guests for Flying High, this year's awards event for the county's looked after children.

Herefordshire PCT is launching a Christmas campaign to encourage young people to participate in a chlamydia screening programme.

Strong financial management in the NHS has resulted in more money for primary care trusts in the latest government funding allocation - including nearly £40 million for Herefordshire.

The turkey has been bought and Christmas pudding made in preparation for a big family Christmas dinner at Green Croft Children's Centre in Hereford.

Youngsters at a Hereford school brushed up on their style to bring a touch of festive magic to the desks and mantelpieces of dignitaries across the county and beyond.

NHS Herefordshire, the primary care trust, is urging local parents to ensure their children are protected from measles, which is spreading in some areas of the West Midlands.

The clocks will be turned back in Hereford on Thursday next week, December 18, when the popular Victorian market returns for a day.

People who have impaired vision and those with disabilities are set to benefit from a re-arrangement of bus stops in Hereford.

This year has been the best year on record for Herefordshire Council's heritage learning team which has delivered outreach sessions in schools and the Museum on the Move Climate Change Exhibition to 6,859 Herefordshire schoolchildren since April.

If you're hunting for original Christmas presents you need to hot foot it to Hereford's High Town this Saturday, December 13.

Elf homes, hot chocolate and Christmas carols are on the cards in Hay-on-Wye as Clifford Primary School's four to 11 year olds get into the festive spirit.

Herefordshire Council has put the call out to landlords, agents and developers who may have properties available to rent in the county.

Herefordshire Council has agreed to establish a task group of school representatives and council officers, to work on a long-term strategy to continue providing the county's children with high educational standards.

Herefordshire Council's energy champion, Councillor Phil Cutter, has been encouraging county residents to take advantage of grants aimed at making homes more energy efficient.

Some of the last works of art created by celebrated French artist Henri Matisse are on display at Hereford Museum and Art Gallery and, to complement the exhibition, Herefordshire Council's museum services are running two family workshops.