It’s been a busy few weeks, with 8 evening parish meetings, and helping parish councils get their bids in to maximise funding from Herefordshire Council for ditching and drainage work; that’s on top of my usual council work and the arrival of a third child! As such I hope I’ll be forgiven for a report across the whole of the Weobley Ward, rather than writing distinct reports for each area within it.
I’m delighted to see a number of the roads I’ve asked to be repaired already on the schedule of works. Everyone agrees that while potholes are annoying, the real answer is long term repair of the roads. I’m glad to see preparatory works going on at Parks Lane, near Brinsop, following the common sense that you have to get the drainage sorted if you’re not to pour good money after bad. Similarly Derndale Road is due to be repaired this summer, but I will be making sure that the drainage issues aren’t still outstanding, as well as keeping an eye on issues with road closure.
Beyond the usual reporting of potholes, I’ve had a number of issues with raised metalwork around drain covers, in particular on Burton Gardens and on the Hereford Road, which should shortly be addressed. I also have had a close eye on the works on the pavers outside Mark Hurd’s – while a team did promptly come to get them sorted, “rain stopped play”, leaving one of them unsecured… by the time this is in print, it should be fixed.
I continue to be frustrated by issues with buses – some local (especially the school bus at Weobley), some county wide - but I am very glad to report that after a long delay of funding, the bus stop at Moorhampton is to be in the first tranche of work, so we should see progress soon.
Regarding the ongoing issues with the pumping station, including sewage rising in the fields; further to raising this with the Chief Executive to take to Welsh Water, I have a much improved channel of communication with Welsh Water, and will continue to put pressure on to get this resolved, working with the flood and drainage team at Herefordshire Council.
I continue to help people with the oil grant – the good news is that over 10% of grants made have been to people in this ward (despite being only 2% of the population) – but I’m sure that there are many people who are eligible who still haven’t claimed. Please do spread the word!
Thinking to footpaths, ditches, and so on; there are frustratingly a number of cases where “asking people nicely” doesn’t always get results, and I’m sorry that those will have to lead to enforcement actions. (If they do get to that point, the council will recover costs).
After years of lobbying for more to be done on this, in particular looking at mobile signal dead-spots, I am pleased the Council is looking to create a new digital officer post to take on the responsibility for broadband provision across the county, management of our terrestrial mobile phone coverage and supporting the take up of new and improved digital services across the county.
A day hardly goes by without AI being in the news, and it’s the same in local government! I’ve reported before that I am impressed with the leadership, after a few false starts, on how technology can save money and deliver better “customer” experience, rather than just chasing shiny, new, expensive projects. This was my professional world, and I would too often see the tail wagging the dog rather than fixing the foundations first. I am cautiously optimistic that Herefordshire Council has got the balance right.
There has been lots of “alphabet soup” regarding local government restructure, as we continue to be pressured into forming a larger FSA (“Foundational Strategic Authority”), and to develop an SDS (“Spatial Development Strategy”). And similarly, we’re currently going through a review as to whether the council wards need to be changed. I can’t deny frustration at how much time is spent in civil service bureaucracy, rather than actually getting stuff done. To me, providing support, stability and strategic direction is what we should do to make it easier for all residents of Herefordshire, rather than arguing about how it’s all divvied up.
Reporting issues and other contacts
- Oil Grant scheme – [email protected] or 01432 260401
- Report problems on the road at www.herefordshire.gov.uk/roads-1/report-problems-road
- Check on progress of a defect:herefordshire.gov.uk/roads-1/pothole-road-defect-progress-map
- Report a serious pothole, flooded road or highway obstruction: 01432 261800
- Making a claim for vehicle damage : www.herefordshire.gov.uk/roads-1/highway-claims
- Footpaths issues [email protected] or 01432 383 550
- Report fly tipping by either calling the Contact Centre on 01432 261800 or via the council website www.herefordshire.gov.uk/info/fly_tipping
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me: 07884 268624, or [email protected] regarding any of these if you run into issues, need help, or feel you aren’t getting the response you should!
Despite being busy; I have had the chance to give my wife a break by taking my other two children out to enjoy some of the many aspects of Herefordshire; they loved the tug of war at Dilwyn Young Farmers Rally, and various other events. There’s so much that fills me with optimism that this county has a future for its young; even if mine are still far too young to take advantage of the recently re-opened Sal in Weobley, and so that was a trip I had to make alone!