A new car park opened 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, 'We are always looking to provide extra car parking in the city centre and this particular site is well located for people wishing to go to either the county hospital or shops in Commercial Road. People can park for up to four hours at Kyrle Street so it is also useful for people wishing to go into the city centre'..

Planning permission for the car park was granted on condition the facility is managed by Herefordshire Council in accordance with its overall transport policy. In return, the council will receive a proportion of the income from it. It is a pay and display car park and the usual disabled vehicle and local elderly concessionary exemptions will apply.

Pictured left: Mick Morris, Herefordshire Council's parking manager (left) and Councillor Brian Wilcox, Herefordshire Council's cabinet member for highways and transportation, with the first tickets issued at the new Kyrle Street car park.

The Hereford Rural South Local Policing Team is organizing a special ‘Community Safety Roadshow’ evening at Orcop Village Hall. The roadshow, which begins at 7.30pm on Thursday, 27th September will give everyone in the Orcop area the chance to meet their local police officers and gain lots of useful information on home security and general safety.

The event is sponsored by Orcop Parish Council and will also feature a presentation on the Smart Water property marking system, safety in the home from the Fire Brigade and other security and safety advice.

The event is open to all. Entrance is free and refreshments are provided.

Herefordshire Council is working with groups and local authorities throughout the United Kingdom to promote the Connect2 bid for £50m lottery cash to fund a series of footpaths, cycleways and bridge schemes. Hereford's planned Connect2 footpath and cycleway, linking the city centre with Rotherwas, Holme Lacy and beyond, has received widespread support from local firms and organizations and is one of the 79 schemes throughout the United Kingdom making up the Connect 2 bid.

Leading UK sustainable travel charity Sustrans is co-ordinating the Connect 2 bid and, if successful, will make then make grants available to fund these schemes across the country, including the one in Hereford. Charles Clark MP, chairman of the national steering group for Connect2, told a conference at Chester: 'People understand the massive threat of climate change and the fact walking and cycling will improve their health. They want to change the lives they lead but don't know how best to go about it. This is where Connect 2 can make a real difference because it is all about providing actual routes that can be used by walkers and cyclists and providing practical ways to help people change their lives.'.

The UK-wide Connect2 project is competing against five other projects for the National Lottery People's Millions funding. The winner of this funding will be decided through a television vote on ITV which is expected to run during the weekend of 8th / 9th December.

Councillor John Stone, attending the conference for Councillor Brian Wilcox, cabinet member for highways and transportation, said, 'It is wonderful that a Hereford scheme is part of this national bid which will help to create sustainable routes throughout the country for walkers and cyclists and make a real difference to the lives of up to six million people. The Connect2 scheme is unique among the projects bidding for the Lottery funding because it will benefit the whole of the United Kingdom and I would urge all residents to vote for it.'

To be notified of the telephone number to vote in December, people should register their interest by registering on the web at www.sustransconnect2.org.uk or telephoning 0845 0581373. Alternatively you can register by texting 'connect2' to 80010.

Herefordshire Council's Master Composter Scheme, run in conjunction with Worcestershire County Council, has earned national praise and will be used as an example for others to follow. The Master Composters scheme involves residents that have been composting for a while, passing on their hints and tips to newcomers. It involves ordinary members of the public across both Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

Garden Organic, Europe's largest organic membership organization dedicated to researching and promoting organic gardening, farming and food, has selected the scheme as an exemplary model and has joined forces with the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to stage the UK Master Composter Scheme Seminar in Worcestershire.

The seminar, which Councils from all over the country will attend, will take place at Bishops Wood Environment Centre, Stourport, on Tuesday, 16th October with the aim of providing local authority personnel who are considering setting up a scheme with a realistic picture of the enthusiasm of Master Composters and how much they contribute to the campaign to encourage people to compost at home.

Worcestershire County Council's staff will be speaking and running workshops at the event to highlight the successes of the scheme and to help other authorities to set up their own schemes. Two Master Composters from the local scheme will also be running a workshop at the event entitled 'The view from the Master Composters' where they will explain why they volunteer, talk about the positive things about the scheme, things they would like to be done differently, the kind of support they need and then hold a questions and discussion session with the group.

Viktoria Salisbury, Worcestershire County Council's project development officer for composting, said, 'The Master Composters scheme has been a massive success and it is great that volunteers have given so much of their time to help residents to compost. Master Composters are incredibly enthusiastic and they all believe strongly in the cause. The best thing about having the volunteers is that it enables us to spread the composting message to a much larger number of residents than I could do alone.'

Since the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Master Composter scheme began in April 2006, volunteers have collectively contributed over 1,250 hours to promoting composting across the two counties. The programme involves volunteers throughout Herefordshire and Worcestershire giving up their time to promote home composting and sharing their knowledge with residents. The Master Composters have been spreading the word about composting through a variety of activities, including visiting schools, attending local events, carrying out compost bin inspections for friends and neighbours, giving talks to local groups and holding composting roadshows. Herefordshire Council and Worcestershire County Council have sold more than 71,000 compost bins in the last three years and the volunteers have played a large part in this achievement.

As part of the Hereford (Belmont) Flood Scheme, the historic King George V Memorial Gates are to be moved to a new location. A ballot found a majority of people were in favour of moving the gates, which were opened by Queen Mary in 1937, to the Hinton Road cycle path.

Councillor Brian Wilcox, Herefordshire Council's cabinet member for highways and transportation, said, 'I am delighted the King George V memorial gates will enjoy such a prominent position as the main entrance into the park and their new location will also enhance the access to the playing fields from Hinton Road. 'People will soon see the gates being dismantled and they will be stored before they are rebuilt at their new location'.

The Scott Trout memorial has also been relocated to the temporary tennis court entrance and is being read by many passers-by, making sure the profile of water safety is kept high. Work on the flood scheme, being carried out by the Environment Agency, is progressing well. Cleaning and repointing of the wall on Riverside Walk has started and lime trees have been pollarded to reduce the likelihood of strong winds blowing them over either during or after the works. Sheet piles are now being put into the ground along the edge of Bishops Meadow from the leisure pool to Wye Street car park. This means there will be fewer spaces in this car park for a period of six weeks. The children's play area is also open and a new set of swings has been installed to replace the set that needs to be removed.

The Environment Agency expects the major works to be completed by spring 2008. The new scheme will protect 196 homes and businesses in southern Hereford from floods so severe that we'd only expect them once in 200 years.

Herefordshire Council has been working with the Herefordshire Football Association to select some of the county's most talented football hopefuls to begin a special 21 week football development training programme for girls this month.

Last term, the county's schools were invited to nominate their best players to attend trials across a range of age groups and nearly 160 girls, aged between eight and 16 were put through their paces in two gruelling sessions held at the Hereford Leisure Centre. Sixty six girls were selected to attend the development centre and will represent the county over the forthcoming season.

The programme aims to select potential talent in four age groups: under 10s, under 12s, under 14s and under 16s, and give the girls top quality coaching to improve their technical skills and reach their full potential. The development centre has formed strong links with local clubs to help and encourage girls to achieve high standards of football excellence. At the same time the centre provides a route for the most talented to be identified and recruited to one of the country's FA licensed centres of excellence.

Those selected to be part of this programme will have their progress assessed on a regular basis. Not only their skills will be monitored, but their commitment, attitude and behaviour. Anyone not making the grade will be asked to relinquish their place to someone on the reserve list.

Alexis Lunn, girls' and women's football development officer, said, 'We are delighted that so many girls are choosing to play football. It is an increasingly popular sport for girls and as a result, the level of skill across the county has improved dramatically. The development centre will help some of our most talented girls improve their skills and be assessed by centre directors from local centres of excellence.'

The development centre is managed and organized by Herefordshire Council with support and funding from Herefordshire FA and the Football Association.

Students and staff at Minster College in Leominster are gearing themselves up for a huge open evening next week when prospective students and their parents are invited to look around the college. This year's open evening takes place on 27th September at 7pm and as the college's popularity continues to grow, visitors are expected to reach an all time high.

In spite of a national trend of falling roles in secondary schools, the Minster College has attracted increasing numbers over the last few years. The college is able to accommodate 700 pupils, and has seen 122 new students begin their studies this September alone. Interest in the college is set to continue rising as Herefordshire Council has just given the go-head for a complete new modern building for 900 students which is currently out to tender. Work is expected to begin next year and finish in 2010.

Richard North, Principal of the Minster College, said, 'The college is expecting another hugely successful open evening, following a tradition of recent years. Our students are very proud of their college and look forward to welcoming visitors at the open evening and showing off the wonderful community that we have at the college. We are really excited about the proposed new buildings which will provide all our students with some of the best educational facilities in the country.'

The doors open at 7.00pm on Thursday 27th September when prospective students and parents will be welcomed to the college by the principal and college staff. Year 11 prefects and senior sixth form students will act as group guides to escort parents and students around the building. Every single classroom will be a hive of activity with existing students involving themselves in a range of activities, including physical education displays, scientific experiments, design technology, a range of art displays and English, maths, language and humanities activities. Visitors will be shown around the computer suites and the physical education laboratory and finish their tour with refreshments prepared by the students at the college's Lion Café. No appointment is necessary and all are welcome.

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