March 2010

More people in Herefordshire believe their local NHS is providing a good service since the primary care trust joined together with the council in close partnership working.

Herefordshire has some of the best childminders in the country. The local childminder network run by Herefordshire Council has just been given the thumbs up by the National Childminding Association (NCMA) for a further three years.

The tax hike on cider is a slap in the face for rural communities, says Herefordshire Council leader Roger Phillips.

Herefordshire Council today provided the key to unlock the revitalisation of Hereford with the approval of a new 850-metre link road to ease traffic congestion and provide access to a planned new urban village, retail and leisure attractions. 

Aylestone Business and Enterprise College and Withington Primary School are proposing to formally work together to share resources and provide a solid, sustainable education for children and young people in their catchment areas.  They have published proposals to form a hard federation which will bring the two schools together in a formal partnership.

Herefordshire Council’s new crematorium now has a new stained glass window kindly donated by a Hereford man to commemorate the life of his late partner John Sperry.

Statistics released by Recycle Now reveal that recycling  rates have increased by 26 percentage points in the West Midlands since 1999 with more than one million tonnes of waste diverted from landfill in 2008-2009 .

Herefordshire Council’s heritage services is working in partnership with Herefordshire and Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust to put on a series of explosive family friendly events this Easter.

Children across the county will be able to enjoy  new, creative outdoor play areas this Easter thanks to Herefordshire Council.

Herefordshire’s newest enterprise park has moved a step closer, and a colourful hoarding is now attracting attention at the site of the Model Farm development at Ross-on-Wye.

Pupils from seven schools in Herefordshire have been working with the Royal Shakespeare Company to gain a better understanding of the bard’s plays, all thanks to a special project spearheaded by Mordiford CE Primary school and supported by Herefordshire Council’s cultural services team.

This April Herefordshire Council will be launching an inspiring new exhibition uncovering the Folklore and Fairytales of Herefordshire and Shropshire.

Herefordshire’s newest enterprise park has moved a step closer, and a colourful hoarding is now attracting attention at the site of the Model Farm development at Ross-on-Wye.

Herefordshire Council is to build a new link across the River Wye as part of its new greenway scheme linking Hampton Park with Rotherwas and beyond for people on foot or bike.

 

Herefordshire could be missing out because of the limited broadband coverage, yet an event held on 18th March showed there is potential in businesses, communities and Herefordshire Council coming together to improve Broadband coverage in the county.

 

After the worst winter weather for 30 years, Herefordshire Council is to invest over £10million during the next year (an increase of over £3million compared to last year) to deliver the biggest programme of highway maintenance the county has ever seen.

Children in the Barons Cross area of Herefordshire will be spinning, climbing and cycling this summer as a new play area is due to open next month (April 2010).

Herefordshire Council is one of the UK’s highest performers when it comes to collecting council tax owed – achieving a collection rate of around 98 per cent.

Children, staff and parents are limbering up in preparation for a day of action packed Easter fun at Ledbury Primary School and children’s centre on 30th March.

Herefordshire Council has agreed proposals to create a new joint venture to share and run key corporate functions with NHS Herefordshire and Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust. The move, which could realise savings of up to £5.4 million a year, was approved by the council’s cabinet today (18 March 2010) but has also to be agreed by the boards of the primary care trust and the county hospital. Money saved will be invested in protecting essential public services for the most vulnerable members of the community.

Smokers across Herefordshire are reminded that if they set a quit date with NHS Herefordshire’s Stub Buddies campaign by 31 March 2010, there’s an extra incentive to succeed.

The council and local NHS services could create a new joint venture to share and run key corporate functions. The move, to be considered by Herefordshire Council’s cabinet this week (18 March 2010) and the boards of NHS Herefordshire and Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust later this month, could realise savings of up to £5.4 million a year to be invested in protecting essential public services for the most vulnerable members of the community.

Aylestone Business and Enterprise College is to officially open the doors to a new centre for student services this week (March 23).

A Hereford woman who admitted benefit fraud amounting to more than £22,000 has received a 24-month community order with supervision for 24 months.

A group of parents at Herefordshire Council’s children’s centre in Ross on Wye have taken learning about their toddlers to another level and achieved a qualification in childcare.

If you want to find out, and influence, what’s happening with the Belmont pools and surrounding land, get along to the Belmont community centre for 6.30pm this Friday, March 19.

Herefordshire Council has agreed revised licence conditions for private hire and hackney carriage vehicles.

Herefordshire Council’s tourist information centres are gearing up for the fourth annual British Tourism Week which takes place from 15th-21st March 2010. 

This year’s Herefordshire Walking Festival offers more than 50 walks over a nine-day period so visitors and residents alike can discover the nooks and crannies of the county’s rich, rural landscape.

Toddlers, parents, and looked after children will be dusting off the bunting, and putting on their glad rags in preparation for a Royal visitor next week.

Businesses and communities in Herefordshire are missing out because of the limited broadband coverage. However, a new document produced by Herefordshire Council sets out an ambitious way forward to address the challenges.

Children and families across the county will find it easier and quicker to access services as seven new hubs are to be built over the next 12 months.  The hubs will help different organisations and services work together better.

Bromyard residents who just miss the deadline for completed questionnaires on the important Shaping Our Place consultation – will still have their views taken into account.

Herefordshire Council has confirmed that Leominster residents who just miss the deadline for completed questionnaires on the important Shaping Our Place consultation – will still have their views taken into account.

Herefordshire Council has confirmed that Kington residents who just miss the deadline for completed questionnaires on the important Shaping Our Place consultation – will still have their views taken into account.

Herefordshire Council has confirmed that Ledbury residents who just miss the deadline for completed questionnaires on the important Shaping Our Place consultation – will still have their views taken into account.

Young people in Herefordshire are being warned of the dangers of alcohol consumption through an exciting new project being delivered in the county’s colleges.

Herefordshire Council has confirmed that Ross-on-Wye residents who just miss the deadline for completed questionnaires on the important Shaping Our Place consultation – will still have their views taken into account.

Herefordshire Council has launched a national competition to design a Victorian-style interior to improve the much-loved Buttermarket in Hereford.

People in Herefordshire are now able to pay council tax bills and other council payments at their local post office.

Children and families across the county will find it easier and quicker to access services as seven new hubs are to be built over the next 12 months. 

Herefordshire Council has confirmed that residents who just miss the deadline for completed questionnaires on the important Shaping Our Place consultation – will still have their views taken into account.

Herefordshire Council is gauging the public’s views on the Hereford Open Retail Market, which was introduced into Commercial Street in July last year.

 

Herefordshire Council approved today (5 March 2010) the lowest council tax rise ever in its history. The rise of 2.54 per cent represents £29.85 a year, or 57.4 pence a week, on a Band D property, which will rise to £1,205.09 in the next financial year but is still below the average council tax level for the country.

 

Over 90 per cent of parents in Herefordshire have been offered their first choice of secondary school to which their child will go to in September. And 6 per cent have been offered their second preference.

Young people across the county will be able to play a part in recruiting new employees for essential public services provided by Herefordshire Council and NHS Herefordshire.

Herefordshire Council is building on a successful pilot scheme by putting in place two extra part-time 20mph speed limits – one at Madley primary school and one at Walford primary school.

Herefordshire Council’s heritage services is staging an exhibition showing a representative collection of nearly 60 years work by county-based artist Reg Boulton. 

Spring is the ideal time of year for people to have a good old clearout and maybe even decorate their homes and Herefordshire Council is encouraging people to see if any of their unwanted items can be reused rather than thrown away.

Smokers across Herefordshire are taking the opportunity of No Smoking Day, on Wednesday 10 March, to quit smoking.  NHS Herefordshire’s Stop Smoking Service is preparing to help smokers through their new ‘Stub Buddies’ scheme, as they join millions of UK smokers who chose No Smoking Day to quit.

Children in some of Herefordshire’s primary schools have been enjoying a theatrical performance which promotes the uptake of school meals, healthy packed lunchboxes and a balanced diet.

Residents of Herefordshire are responding in their thousands to one of the most important consultations ever to be undertaken in the county. But the deadline for completed questionnaires for the Shaping Our Place consultation is looming fast. It ends on 12 March but the level of participation so far in Herefordshire has already eclipsed that of similar strategic planning consultations in other parts of the country.

With 5,000 people on the housing list in Herefordshire, there is a pressing need for more affordable homes in the county. For local people on lower earnings, a house at the bottom end of the market would cost them 8.5 times their annual earnings.