Dolphin-loving Amy Clements and her family are celebrating after being given the keys to a specially adapted new home on the Bradbury Lines development in Hereford. Spina Bifida sufferer Amy, aged 14, has very little use in her legs and depends on her wheelchair. Amy and her family will benefit greatly from her specially adapted new home. Herefordshire Council's Strategic Housing Team provided a £32,000 grant and, in partnership with Marches Housing Association and George Wimpey, converted a two-bedroom bungalow into a three-bedroom home.

Amy's family home had proven very difficult and expensive to adapt for her needs and the best of several proposed designs to modify and extend the property to suit her needs would have left her isolated in an annex, away from her family. The family were also unable to find a suitable home, available in their area.

George Wimpey installed many specific features to help Amy, such as adjustable worktops and hob in the kitchen and a wheelchair-accessible wet room in her bedroom. Thus giving teenager, Amy more independence and mobility within her new home.

Steven Clements Amy's father said, 'Amy was born with Spina Bifida and throughout her life she has had many operations, starting with head and spinal operations when Amy was just a few hours old, to a major back operation two years ago. This specially built bungalow will bring to an end our six year quest of suitable housing for Amy. It will mean that Amy can at last have the independence and access to day to day activities we all take for granted, that may have caused Amy discomfort and suffering. We are all looking forward to her being able to do nearly everything herself and Amy can't wait to start decorating her new bedroom with dolphins.'

The family will move in shortly and meanwhile Marches Housing Association arranged a presentation to welcome the Clements to the new property. George Wimpey along with the Marches presented Amy and her sister with a brand new laptop to welcome them to their new home.

The September round of Community Forum meetings is continuing into its second week, with another three meetings set to take place. Local Policing Teams and Herefordshire Council are encouraging local people to attend the meetings and raise issues for the partners to deal with in the coming months.

Community Forum meetings are held regularly across Herefordshire as part of the PACT (Partners and Communities Together) process, which seeks to give local people the opportunity to get involved in how the authorities manage the places in which they live, work and visit. The latest round of Community Forums runs throughout September, with the forthcoming meetings catering for the Bromyard, Kington and Golden Valley areas.

Each meeting will have a representative of the Local Policing Team and Herefordshire Council on hand to discuss issues and meet members of the public. They will be happy to discuss any crime related and antisocial behaviour issues and other ways in which the area can be improved.

The first meeting of week two took place at the Bromyard Centre in Cruxwell Street, Bromyard on Tuesday, 11th September. This covers both the Bromyard Town and Bromyard Rural Local Policing Areas.

The next meeting is the Kington Community Forum to take place today, Wednesday, 12th September at Lady Hawkins Leisure Centre. This again covers both the town and the surrounding rural areas.

The final meeting of the second week will take place on Thursday, 13th September at the Golden Valley Community Centre in Peterchurch, to cover the Golden Valley and Hereford Rural South areas. All of the Community Forum meetings will begin at 7pm on their advertised dates.

'These meetings provide the public with a great opportunity to find out what West Mercia Police, Herefordshire Council and other partners have been doing to reduce crime, disorder and antisocial behaviour in their neighbourhood,' said Chief Inspector Sue Thomas, who is charge of Local Policing in Herefordshire. 'Updates on actions taken since previous meetings will also be available and there will be an opportunity for the public to let us know if their problems have been resolved and to tell us of any issues which need some new action.'

Herefordshire Council Leader, Councillor Roger Phillips said, 'The council and its partners are committed to making Herefordshire a safer and better place in which to live and work and we are continually striving to improve our communities. We can only do this with the help of the people who live here. Please get along to your local Community Forum and let us know the issues which concern you.'

Don’t worry if you are unsure which Community Forum or Local Policing Team covers your area. Simply visit www.westmercia.police.uk and click on the Local Policing link, enter a postcode into the postcode locator and the policing team for that area will be displayed. Information about each of the Community Forum / PACT meetings is also displayed alongside.

A full listing of Community Forum meeting dates and venues is also available by visiting the Herefordshire Council website at www.herefordshire.gov.uk and, as a handy reminder, the myherefordshire.com website will also be displaying information about forthcoming meetings.

Parents and children at St Paul's CE Primary School in Hereford have launched a new walking bus to reduce traffic congestion and make it easier for working parents to take their children to school. Traffic on Hampton Dene Road in Tupsley has been a problem for some time, as 1600 children are transported to and from St Paul's Primary School and the Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School daily.

In spite of traffic-calming measures introduced last year and regular monitoring by the police, St Paul's has long been concerned about the safety of its children walking to and from school. Issues such as people driving too fast, not paying attention, getting frustrated because of traffic volume, not being considerate to others all cause friction and potential danger to children which the school wanted to address.

Working with the school travel adviser, the school successfully applied for funding from Herefordshire Council to set up a walking bus scheme. Operating on a Monday and Tuesday to begin with, the children gather at the Cock of Tupsley car park which is on the corner of Ledbury Road and Hampton Park Road. Volunteer parents walk the children safely from the car park to the school further down the road.

Walking Buses are a great way of getting children to school safely and they also cut down on the number of cars coming to school. It's usually those same cars which cause the congestion and danger outside the school gate. Reginald Thomas, head teacher at St Paul's, said, 'We have always encouraged children and parents to walk to school, but realise that this isn't possible for some, particularly for children whose parents have to go to work. The scheme we've been able to develop with funding from the government's Walking Bus Initiative has given us the opportunity to provide parents with something a bit different so that their children can get walking, and the parents can have a less frustrating journey into work. Hopefully the children will have fun too.'

'I am delighted the school has set up a new walking bus and hope it will prove to be so successful that they have to expand the scheme to five days a week,' said Councillor Brian Wilcox, cabinet member for highways and transportation.. 'There are so many cars on the roads at the moment, we need to make sure our children are safe when travelling to and from school. It is also important that we encourage children to become active, and walking to school is a good way to start. Congratulations to St Paul's and all the volunteers who have made this scheme possible.'

Herefordshire Council has announced what it calls a 'win, win solution' to protect the Rotherwas Ribbon archaeological find, explore opportunities for tourism and safeguard the jobs and businesses that depend on the new Rotherwas access road.

The council's cabinet debated a 50 page report on how the Ribbon should be preserved for future generations. They heard that Herefordshire Council has made an application for funding to English Heritage to enable further archaeological investigation of the presumed course of the Ribbon to North and South of the original course of the access road. This will help define the extent and nature of the find and allow the council to consider further options to develop opportunities for tourism, heritage and education.

Depending upon the results of any further investigation, the council proposes to prepare a conservation plan and determine how public access to the Ribbon could be achieved, evaluating the potential for a permanent visitor centre. English Heritage has been involved since the discovery of the Ribbon and its experts have advised that the council's engineering solution, to cover the site with layers of protective membranes and sand, will protect it for future generations. This was essential as leaving the Ribbon exposed to the elements would eventually destroy it.

The council approved the completion of the Rotherwas access road, as this is essential for the completion of the £20-million Rotherwas Futures project, which will transform the existing Rotherwas Industrial Estate, the county's key employment site which houses 125 companies. Welcomed by business, the project will include a flood alleviation scheme, create new jobs and help Herefordshire's economy to compete.

The cabinet heard that abandoning or re-routing the access road to avoid the archaeological find could cost council taxpayers between £6 million and £110 million, according to a range of options which included the building of a tunnel under the Rotherwas Ribbon. Instead the archaeological find will be protected in line with advice from archaeologists and best practice.

The council stopped work on the Rotherwas access road around the Ribbon site earlier this year, when the significance of the find was established. The find was announced to councillors and citizens in May. Plans to protect the Ribbon were initially put on hold after popular demand to see it. Around 1,000 people were given escorted tours of the site during July. The council covered the site in August to protect it after archaeologists conducted a fingertip clean of the surface to carefully remove deposited silt.

Councillor John Jarvis, cabinet member for the environment, said, 'The council often has to balance a number of disparate but passionately held points of view in order to reach a solution that supports the greater good for Herefordshire. We have listened to all the arguments, as well as expert advice, not least English Heritage and professional archaeologists, and we have agreed the best possible way of protecting the Rotherwas Ribbon for future generations, as well as exploring opportunities for tourism and education. Furthermore, we have to take into account how we can ensure that Herefordshire has a vibrant commercial and business life, that firms operating here have the best chance to compete and prosper and that new jobs are created to help our young people stay in Herefordshire, get on the housing ladder and enjoy the great quality of life the county has to offer.

Added to this, we have the interests of council tax payers at heart. The options to build the road around, over or underneath the Rotherwas Ribbon were simply not even remotely viable. At the end of the day we know those who simply want to stop the road will not be happy, but people who genuinely care about the protection of the Rotherwas Ribbon and want to find out more about its extent and character can be assured that we have taken the right course of action.' The cabinet's decision is a key one and the Council stated that it can be called in for further scrutiny by other councillors.

The Leominster Pavilion Community Interest Company, which runs a café at the former cricket pavilion in the town's Grange, has won the accolade of Best Market Town Project in the West Midlands as part of the National Market Towns Award Scheme. The awards scheme, run by Action for Market Towns working with Advantage West Midlands, aims to recognize the dedication and hard work of initiatives designed to regenerate town centres.

As regional winner, the Leominster scheme will now compete at the national final being held later this month. The Leominster Pavilion Community Interest Company, which has received support and funding from Herefordshire Council, also won the award for business and community. Henriette Lyttle-Breukelaar, director of partnerships at Advantage West Midlands, said, 'The Pavilion project excelled in all areas by both making use of a disused and iconic building in the town as well as providing employment for people with learning disabilities. The project has been built on firm foundations and has strong community support'.

The not-for-profit café, which is run by Leominster's Marshfield Centre, was launched in August 2006. Marshfield is a Herefordshire Council Day Service supporting people with learning disabilities. Jonathan Pitts, manager of the Marshfield Centre, said: 'When we started the project, the former cricket pavilion had been empty for three years and was getting vandalized and we thought a café would be a good use for the building. Leominster Market Towns and Herefordshire Council Community Regeneration Project Development Team helped us apply for funding and we also received a contribution from property services to help modernize the building. 'These awards reflect the success of the café which has not only become a popular part of the community but also provides real employment opportunities for people from the Marshfield Centre'.

The project was funded through the Leominster Area Regeneration Company. The national final will be held during the Action for Market Towns annual conference, on 26th and 27th September at Newmarket.

A new car park is to open in Hereford's city centre on Thursday, 13th September. The extra 60 car parking spaces at 15-17 Kyrle Street, formerly the Car Centre, have been provided after Herefordshire Council reached agreement with the landowner to manage the facility.

Councillor Brian Wilcox, cabinet member for highways and transportation, said, 'I am delighted this car park is now open. It will provide much needed space in this area of the city where there is significant demand for parking, especially as it is close to shops in Commercial Road and the County Hospital. We were able to reach an agreement with the landowner to manage the car park and, in return, we will receive a proportion of the income from it.'

Planning permission for the car park was granted on condition that the facility is managed by Herefordshire Council in accordance with its overall transport policy. It is a pay and display car park and the usual disabled vehicle and local elderly concessionary exemptions will apply.

Motorists in Hereford are being advised that temporary, three way traffic signals are to be erected on Monday, 17th September, at the junction of Holme Lacy Road with Gatehouse Road and Chapel Lane.

Lights are now needed at this junction to enable the council's contractor, McAlpine, to complete the construction of the new four arm roundabout for the Rotherwas access road. Works have been ongoing in recent months to construct sections of the roundabout beside the roads at the junction. However, the works will now encroach onto the roads and the temporary traffic lights are needed to allow contractors to work safely. It is expected that the lights will remain at this location until mid December 2007.

Motorists should also be advised that they will be directed through the junction in a number of ways as various new sections of carriageway are constructed. Signs will be in place at all times to ensure the smooth operation of the junction. Every effort will be made to minimize delays.

Well over 1,500 people visited the Herefordshire Division open day at Leominster, enjoying the chance to take a look for themselves around the town’s brand new police station. Crowds of people of all ages attended the event at the Enterprise Way police station to enjoy a variety of attractions and gain an insight into Local Policing by chatting to police and community support officers during tours of the station.

Popular activities included a demonstration of self defence techniques, dance displays by the 2FaCed Dance Company and a fly by and aerial display by the police helicopter. Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service’s smoke tent was also hugely popular, giving people the chance to experience the difficulties and dangers of being trapped in a smoke filled building.

More than 400 children enjoyed the chance to take away special ‘wanted’ posters of themselves to commemorate their visit and the chance to sit in a police car, complete with working sirens and emergency lights also proved to be a big draw for younger visitors. There were also displays of police equipment, finger printing for children, a crime scene display by police forensic officers and stands from Crimestoppers, Smart Water and Herefordshire Community Safety and Drugs Partnership.

Divisional Commander, Chief Superintendent Mark Turner, said the day had proved to be a huge success. 'I was really pleased to see such good support from local people, who came from both Leominster itself and the surrounding areas in Shropshire, Worcestershire and Mid Wales,' he said. 'It was particularly pleasing to see many family groups with parents and grandparents bringing their children along. We tried to have something for everyone, whatever age, and visitors seemed to be really interested in learning more about policing and the work of our partner agencies.

Leominster’s new police station is a tremendous facility and it was good to be able to give local people the opportunity to see for themselves the commitment West Mercia Constabulary is making to policing North Herefordshire.'

The day was raising money for Macmillan Cancer Relief and the Police Community Fund for victims of crime. This included £500 raised by Colin Osborne, editor of the Leominster Journal, who gamely entered into the spirit of a mock arrest and raised his ‘bail money’ in an hour from the confines of a prison cell! Other funds were raised from the sale of refreshments, plus the proceeds of a raffle.

The open day was the conclusion of a busy week for the new police station, which was officially opened by the Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire and Worcestershire, Sir Thomas Dunne, on Tuesday afternoon. The opening ceremony was also attended by the mayors of Leominster and surrounding towns, as well as West Mercia Chief Constable, Paul West and the chairman of West Mercia Police Authority, Paul Deneen.

Mr Deneen said that the new police station affirmed the Police Authority’s continuing investment in police facilities across the county, following on from recent new police stations at Peterchurch, Bromyard, Kington and South Wye, as well as the ongoing improvement works at Hereford.

Countrywide Farmers plc admitted two offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 at Herefordshire county Court on Monday, 10th September. The company was fined £10,000 in total for both offences and was ordered to pay £4,649 costs.

The breaches were identified in April 2006, when environmental health officers from Herefordshire Council were notified by West Mercia Police of a serious accident at the Countrywide Farmers store on Mortimer Road, Hereford. It was found that a delivery vehicle had been reversed along the front of the store and then collided with a customer. An inquest concluded that the customer's death was accidental. However, the jury said the management of health and safety was not a priority with the company at that time.

The two offences relate to the failure of the company to conduct their undertaking in such a way as to protect employees and members of the public from a risk to their health and safety from vehicles. It was common practice for vehicles to reverse along the front of the store, crossing the pedestrian routes to the exit and entrance of the store. The company was aware of the risks associated with workplace transport but had not introduced adequate procedures to ensure that these risks were controlled. The company has since introduced satisfactory transport safety procedures on site and a one way system within the car park to reduce the amount of reversing on site.

Andrew Tector, Herefordshire Council's head of environmental health and trading standards, said, 'This case illustrates the importance of properly managing transport safety in the workplace and is a reminder to other businesses to check their procedures.'

Health and Safety Executive statistics show that workplace transport is the second biggest cause of work related fatal accidents and is therefore a priority area for environmental health officers when undertaking health and safety inspections. Businesses wanting information on how to check the safety of their sites are advised to view the Health and Safety Executives website on workplace transport at www.hse.gov.uk/workplacetransport/index.htm.

Herefordshire Council has welcomed further debate on whether the cabinet decision on the Rotherwas Ribbon archaeological find was based on advice from English Heritage and all financial considerations were taken into account. The council's Environment Scrutiny Committee has 'called in' the decision.

Councillor John Jarvis, cabinet member for the environment, said, 'We believe the council should take every opportunity to ensure it is doing the right thing to protect the Rotherwas Ribbon, explore opportunities for tourism and complete the Rotherwas access road to safeguard existing and future jobs in Hereford. However, the news that the decision will be scrutinized is welcomed. The views of the scrutiny committee are a key part of the council's democratic process. Its role will be to test the accountability and transparency of any decisions taken by the council so it is right that it scrutinizes the decision and any background material.'

The council said it had aimed for a 'win win solution' when the cabinet debated a 50 page report on the Ribbon on Thursday, 6th September 2007. The cabinet approved the completion of the road, which it said was essential for the success and transformation of the Rotherwas Industrial Estate, the county's key employment site, which houses 125 companies.

Chair of the council's strategic monitoring committee Councillor Phil Edwards said, 'I welcome the opportunity for scrutiny to take a second look at the vitality of the Rotherwas access road and the future of the local economy. At the same time I wish to recommend the importance of safeguarding this archaeological find and creating an opportunity for increased value from tourism.'

The cabinet voted unanimously to protect the Ribbon in line with advice from archaeologists and best practice. The council is hoping for funding from English Heritage to enable archaeological investigation of the presumed course of the Ribbon to the north and south of the original course of the access road. This will allow the council to consider options to develop opportunities for tourism, heritage and education, including evaluating the potential for a permanent visitor centre. The council stopped work on the Rotherwas access road around the Ribbon site earlier this year when the significance of the find was established. It announced the find to councillors and citizens in May. Plans to protect the Ribbon were initially put on hold after popular demand to see it.

Councillor Jarvis said, 'The council is working hard to balance a number of conflicting views, including those of the anti road protesters, those who want the Ribbon protected for future generations, the needs of business to compete commercially, the need to create new jobs for our young people, the hopes of local residents that a new road will alleviate traffic problems and the interests of council tax payers, who do not want to bear the brunt of the costs of diverting the road around the Ribbon. Making everyone happy is mission impossible of course, but we have listened to all views and expert advice in coming to a decision that we feel reflects the needs of community as a whole.'

Herefordshire residents are being urged to make sure they respond to electoral registration forms. If they don't, they may have difficulty in opening a bank account, getting a credit card or even a mobile phone contract. The forms are currently being sent out to around 80,000 households. Herefordshire Council need of any changes to the information they hold so they can publish the new Electoral Register in December.

The good news is that if nothing has changed since last year, people can now inform the council either over the telephone or via the council's website - www.herefordshire.gov.uk. The register is used by companies and organizations for credit checks and to verify personal details required when people open bank accounts, seek credit and want to enter various kinds of contracts.

'We know Autumn is a very busy time of the year for everyone,' said Colette Maund, the Electoral Registration Services Manager. 'The summer holidays are over, children are back at school, older children are off to university, gardeners are preparing for winter; the list of activities goes on and on - but we'd ask people to take just a few minutes to either complete the forms and return them or to get in touch by phone or via our website.

Members of staff in the electoral registration office have already begun sorting through the enormous amount of information that people have started sending back. Many people do not realize that they are required, by law, to fill in these forms every year. This year we've tried to make it as easy as possible for people in Herefordshire to register. Electors can return their forms by post in the Freepost envelopes provided, or, if there are no changes to the previous year's information, they can use their phones or the Internet to let inform us.

We process an awful lot of forms during the autumn and a great deal of that information could be registered by phone or Internet. Returning the forms by post costs the council more money both in postage and in staff time.'

So, the message that Colette wants to send out is that people should ensure that they register and if possible they should use the Freephone number 0800 197 4915 or log onto the council website at www.herefordshire.gov.uk and use the quick link to Register of Electors.

An archaeological excavation is under way at Credenhill Iron Age Hill Fort to the west of Hereford which will carry on until the end of September. Under the direction of Peter Dorling of Herefordshire Archaeology, the team is being assisted by local volunteers and students from Cardiff University.

The excavations are part of a longer term project being undertaken in partnership with The Woodland Trust who have been awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund grant to conserve and study Credenhill Park Wood in which the fort, the largest in the Marches of Wales, is situated. The bigger project will involve the removal of conifer trees that were planted in the 1960s from much of the fort, and the restoration of the surrounding woodland to mixed deciduous cover.

The 2007 excavations are focusing on the summit and Southern area of the interior of the fort, with a series of trenches designed partly to establish if there was an earlier enclosure on the hill and also to assess the damage done by the planted trees.

Peter Dorling said, 'This is an important opportunity to learn more about the history of the fort in the Iron Age and into the Roman period. Hopefully it will shed light on the Iron Age in the county more widely, given that this is the first sustained campaign of excavation of a hill fort in Herefordshire for 40 years.'

Dr Keith Ray, the County Archaeologist, who directs the overall archaeological project for the Trust and Herefordshire Council, said, 'The 2007 excavations represent a further stage in the partnership with The Woodland Trust that in 2003 / 2004 saw the purchase of Park Wood and the fort for woodland restoration, historic conservation and access purposes. "We are delighted to be able to assist with this further stage of work, and we intend that our new excavations will amplify what is known about this massive site.'

The 2007 excavations will feature in a Time Team Special documentary about hill forts that is being made this summer and will include footage of other Herefordshire sites. The programme will be broadcast on Channel 4 television in 2008. Meanwhile, the public are being invited to see the excavations themselves through guided visits at 2pm, 3pm and 4pm on Wednesday, 26th September and at 11am, Noon, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm on Saturday, 29th September. Booking is essential. Contact Jacky Denovan on 01432 260470 for further information.

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