Hereford Civic Society News

David Benjamin (1954-2010)

2010-07-29T22:05:00.000+01:00

HCS tribute to ‘a lovely and gentle man’

Both a taciturn man and yet not afraid to speak his mind – often in quite trenchant terms - when something (usually a municipal muddle) had upset his equilibrium, David Benjamin was a tower of strength.

The founder of the It’s Our City campaign and close friend Mark Hubbard describes Dave Benjamin as “a lovely and gentle man who will be sadly missed.”

Hereford Butter Market’s popular Benjamin fishmongery has been the trading base for three generations of the same family, Dave’s grandfather having first moved down to Hereford with his family from Stockton-on-Tees, two years after the end of the second world war. Dave had a prodigious knowledge of fishing and fish cuisine and many Butter Market customers said that he could have made a second career as a Rick Stein: “Ask him a question about a fillet of fish and, as often as not, he’d tell you how to cook it!”

Mr Benjamin was equally passionate about the Butter Market itself, campaigning tirelessly for its much-needed refurbishment – an aspiration which may at last happen with the imminent announcement of the result of the national architectural design competition.

From day one of his election in 2007 as a ward councillor for the large St Nicholas Ward, Cllr Benjamin made it his business to be fully conversant with the city’s economic and urban planning issues. And as fellow St Nicholas Ward councillor Julie Woodward will attest, he was an extremely conscientious constituency worker.

Together with Cllrs Hubbard and Woodward, Dave Benjamin sat on council as a member of the independent It’s Our County group. Gerald Dawe, the council’s sole Green Party councillor, recalls the first months after their election, when navigating their way around ‘the system’ wasn’t easy. “We certainly found it an uphill struggle at the start. But Dave was always very enquiring; if I was sitting within earshot, I’d often hear him mumble ‘something’s not right here!’”

Dave Benjamin was a keen sportsman, rugby and tennis being his preferred activities. A dedicated family man he is survived by his wife Nina and his three children Robert, Nicholas and Anna.

Hereford’s newly-elected MP Jesse Norman knew Dave Benjamin well. “He had a deep love for this city: you could say he was Hereford through and through. We and the city are all the poorer for his passing.”

We're removing a tree because we're removing it - Herefordshire Council

2010-07-08T21:39:00.002+01:00

Hereford Civic Society has written to P.Clasby, Senior Planning Officer at Herefordshire Council, expressing concern about the health of 'a venerable old tree' at the entrance to the new Cattle Market.

The Society wrote: 'To minimize the risks to trees on development sites, the British Standards “ Trees in relation to construction” (BS 5837 2005) set recommendations which should apply. This tree should have planning conditions for its protection, but none of these appear to be implemented. Should a private citizen show such disregard both for the tree and the regulations, he would, at least, be severely reprimanded and possibly, prosecuted.

The Society requested that the Council look into the problem before more damage was done, but have received a written reply from Kevin Bishop at the Council stating: 'This tree is to be removed as part of the development of the site hence the limited protection afforded. I hope this explains the reason why limited protection has been afforded.'

Er, not really.

Council fixes £1.3m street revamp flaw with gaffer tape

2010-07-08T21:26:00.002+01:00

From the Telegraph:

Council engineers have resorted to gaffer tape to protect shoppers after a £1.3 million repaving project led by international consultants resulted in a spate of trips and falls.

Read the full story - The Telegraph doesn't yet charge!

Does high density development make travel more sustainable?

2010-06-30T12:17:00.001+01:00

Two experts on transport planning, Peter Headicar and Marcial Echenique, tell CABE News what they think about the role of spatial planning in encouraging more sustainable travel. Read the full report here.

Council in a double pickle

2010-06-30T08:27:00.000+01:00

by I K Northchurch

Hard on the heels of the announcement at the end of June that Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government Eric Pickles had issued regional development agency Advantage West Midlands’ ‘death warrant’, comes news that the government intends to tighten up the code governing council-sponsored magazines and newspapers – or ‘propaganda-on-the-rates’ as they have been described by their critics. This puts Herefordshire Council’s bi-monthly Herefordshire Matters firmly in the firing line.

The coalition government move fulfils a commitment first made last November by Caroline Spelman MP, when opposition local government spokeswoman. “Councils need the scrutiny of local newspapers; they should not be using public money to give themselves a pat on the back,” said Mr Pickles in an article in the Guardian at the weekend.

Creative accounting

Last February, in answer to a written question submitted by a Herefordshire council taxpayer, deputy leader Cllr June French revealed that the gross annual bill for the county-wide distribution of Herefordshire Matters was £75,000. At the time, it was claimed that this taxpayers’ charge was off-set by advertising revenue, though a subsequent analysis of the adverts carried by the magazine reveal that many were, in fact, ‘in-house’ announcements from council-funded or associated bodies such as NHS Trust and the police authority. The council’s own estimate also omitted the cost of staff time in compiling many of the publication’s ‘good news’ stories.

Over-egging the pudding

The most recent issue of Herefordshire Matters, carries no fewer than 50 council references in 28 pages of editorial. But Herefordshire is certainly not the sole offender in this ingenious ruse to make local taxpayers subsidise the publication of news which paints a glowing picture of council (and councillors’) activities. According to freedom of information campaigner Heather Brooke (author of the best-selling ‘The Silent State’), 94% of all local authorities publish some form of taxpayer-funded newspaper or magazine, the majority having come into existence since 1990.

Castle Green Summer Fayre

2010-06-30T08:14:00.000+01:00

The Friends of Castle Green invite you to a fabulous day out on the Castle Green. It'll be a great day. Remember, if you want to spend the day there, bring a light weight chair with you, we only have a limited supply! View the poster and info here.

Regeneration Game and more

2010-06-23T17:35:00.000+01:00

Our calendar has been updated with details of events up to the end of 2010. These include Walking the City Walls in July, Youth Involvement in Local Societies (September) and 'The Regeneration Game' in October. There is no meeting in August. Check out the calendar now.

End of road for bypass?

2010-06-23T16:43:00.001+01:00

A Herefordshire councillor has welcomed the decision by Patrick Hammond, the Secretary of State for Transport to suspend Local Authority Priority Road Building Schemes that could have led to funding for the Hereford Bypass. Given that Hereford’s bypass or Outer Distributor Road as it is now called, was at the bottom of the list, it means funding from Government will not happen for it for at least ten years, if indeed ever.

Hammond sent a letter this week to all local authorities advising them that Major Scheme Priorities would no longer be accepted and those that have been approved but not started would not receive funding. He strongly advised local authorities not to raise expectations of roads they couldn’t build by carrying out public consultations.

This is exactly what Herefordshire Council has done. The public were asked in June 2008 through a Local Development Framework questionnaire whether they wanted an outer distributor road and again in January 2010 via a widely distributed leaflet and road show if they wanted a west or east bypass.

Asked by Cllr Hubbard at the Cabinet Meeting on June 17th 2010 whether they would now shift the projected £100,000 spend for the ODR onto something more achievable, Leader Roger Phillips replied ‘You forget private sources’.

Cllr Gerald Dawe, member for Hollington which includes the Rotherwas Access Road - seen by many in the Council as the first stage in the bypass said: “Roger Phillips and this Conservative Council have not understood that their much cherished plans of expanding Herefordshire by 18,100 houses and building roads around Hereford, Leominster and Ledbury is just not going to happen. It’s a great shame that Phillips is persisting in this old fashioned growth agenda when we should be preserving and protecting our beautiful city and countryside, they are our real assets. We say do this by promoting a low carbon technology, providing a really good bus service, helping our trains and building cycleways and walkways into and through Hereford and everywhere else. This would be real progress. I call on him yet again to stop the Local Development Framework process until after the next local elections so people can have their say on what they want.”

Close AWM and solve Hereford's traffic problems

2010-06-23T16:32:00.000+01:00

Local campaign group Better Transport for Hereford has written to Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, complaining at the way in which they think Advantage West Midlands (AWM) has wasted taxpayer's money and forced an inappropriate development model on Hereford which has made traffic problems worse. In the letter, BTFH Secretary, Becky Roseff, argues that AWM could be closed, money saved, and Herefordshire actually benefit from this.

She wrote: "During [the last ten years] AWM, amongst other things, has built two new roads, created an industrial estate that remains empty and is planning a controversial retail centre (ESG) next to Hereford City. None of these make economic sense."

For the full story visit Better Transport for Hereford.

Link Road: RIP?

2010-06-17T18:08:00.003+01:00

Even the sages who predicted it would never happen must have been taken by surprise by the speed with which ESG’s Link Road dream seems to have disappeared into thin air. Thanks in no small measure to the axe-wielding George Osborne, one suspects.

As half-baked, ill-conceived masterplans go, this one was a 24ct clinker from the word go.

Read the full article in the Comment and Debate section.

Improving the design of new housing

2010-06-17T15:33:00.000+01:00

Improving the design of new housing argues that the current regime of building regulations, planning policy and funding has created a framework for housing quality that is confused, overlapping and sometimes contradictory.

The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) believes that this plethora of standards should be replaced by a much simpler national standards framework. This would include minimum design standards for both houses and housing and address the policy principles required to meet our environmental commitments and the basic needs of communities and residents.

This report complements the arguments made in Simpler and better: housing design in everyone’s interest and references the technical information contained in Housing standards: evidence and research.

Download the report from CABE here.

How the Regional Spacial Strategy Affects Us

2010-06-16T06:52:00.002+01:00

Our speaker for June is an expert on planning who will guide us through the recent changes to our complicated planning laws:

"How the Regional Spacial Strategy Affects Us" - a talk by George Goodhall, Chairman of the West MASA. Wednesday 23rd June, 7.30pm in Committee Room 1 Shire Hall, Hereford.

Density targets scrapped

2010-06-13T19:57:00.000+01:00

Planning Resource reports that the government has confirmed plans to scrap minimum housing density targets and to outlaw so-called 'garden grabbing'.

In an announcement today decentralisation minister Greg Clark said councils and communities would be given "immediate power to prevent the destructive practice of garden grabbing and decide what types of homes are suitable for their area."

To prevent garden grabbing, where new homes are built on what was a private garden, the government will amend PPS3 to remove the classification of gardens as ‘previously developed land’ and thus remove them from Brownfield designation.

Read the full report on Planning Resources.

ESG 'in limbo'

2010-06-08T07:08:00.000+01:00

The Hereford Times is reporting that "Hereford's Edgar Street Grid (ESG) scheme has lost vital funding for its link road, pitching businesses that had to move to make way for the road – and the future for the scheme itself – into limbo."

Latest Magazine available for download

2010-06-02T12:14:00.000+01:00

The Late Spring 2010 magazine of the Society is now available for download. Let us know what you think of the new layout and design as well as the content. Download the magazine here.

Butcher Row House folk museum

2010-03-31T16:31:00.002+01:00

Ledbury Civic Society's Butcher Row House folk museum will be holding a special anniversary exhibition in the Burgage Hall, Church Lane, Ledbury on Friday 16 April and Saturday 17 April 2010 from 10.30am to 4.30pm, also on Sunday 18 April from 12.30pm to 4.30pm. It is 30 years since the Butcher Row House was re-built on the present site. Some of the items in the exhibition are rarely on display. Admission is free, but there is a donations box for those who feel it worthy of support.

Link road application flawed

2010-02-09T15:17:00.000Z

Hereford Civic Society has submitted a lengthy objection to the application for a link road as part of the Edgar Street Grid (ESG) development process.

The Society's report can be downloaded from their website here.

Goings on in the city

2009-11-22T19:54:00.001Z

A reminder that the next Hereford Civic Society talk will be an update on city centre development by Cynthia Palmer, Hereford City Centre Manager called 'GOINGS ON IN THE CITY' on Wed, 25 November, 19:30 – 21:30 at our usual venue No.1 Committee Room, Shire Hall, St Peter's Square, HEREFORD HR1 2HY.

OWN THE FUTURE

2009-11-18T18:00:00.000Z

News of the Civic Trust’s closure in April came as a shock to civic societies across the country. A lot of work has been going on to fill the gap with something better, as Tony Burton from the Civic Society Initiative explains.

“Nowhere should be without its civic society and no-one should be without the voice you can provide.”

This was the message from the Prince of Wales to the Civic Societies National Convention in October and it resonated with the delegates from civic societies from every part of the country. Every civic society is part of something bigger. Every local issue is a national issue. Every local voice can be part of a national voice. Working together the civic society movement is one of the country’s unsung treasures and with over 1,000 local organisations and 250,000 members it is a force to be reckoned with.

The loss of the Civic Trust has left civic societies without a champion in the corridors of power and without the individual guidance and advice that can help each society flourish. With generous support from other national organisations like the National Trust and contributions from over 135 civic societies, the Civic Society Initiative was set up in June to help find a way forward. We have been debating and discussing what might happen and how it might be funded in public meetings, online debates and a major survey. In three months we involved over 800 societies and had face to face discussions with nearly 400 people. The conclusions were presented in a special report – Own the future – to the October convention which was the first gathering of civic societies for over 30 years.

It is clear that the country needs effective and influential civic societies now more than ever before. The effects of insensitive development, weak land use and transport planning and a lack of regard for heritage and the identity and character of the villages, towns, cities and neighbourhoods of England is diminishing them and all our lives. People also want more of a say but find themselves left out in the cold. The number of people who think they can influence local decisions has fallen from 44% to 39% in the last eight years. That is why local places need powerful champions to defend them, to celebrate their history and to shape their future.

It is also clear that civic societies need each other. Together we’re stronger is truism but no less true for that. The forces that shape your local area depend as much on national priorities, policy and funding as they do on local decisions. Working together we can reach places in the corridors of power that local action will never reach.

Civic societies are also looking for support and advice on how best to make a difference locally and to strengthen themselves with new volunteers and sources of funding. This includes support for clustering together more locally than the remote Government regions in some areas. There are already moves to have three clusters in the South East and cluster civic societies in Merseyside and around Wiltshire, Bath, Bristol and Gloucestershire. We know others are looking to work together more at a county level or around the potential of new “city-regions”.

As a result, there is an overwhelming call for a small new national body to lobby and campaign where it matters, raise the profile of the movement and provide civic societies with support and advice. It is also clear that people want this new body to be independent and to be focused on meeting the needs of civic societies. The Civic Trust closed because it became remote and dependent on Government funding which was switched elsewhere. The same cannot happen again. Each civic society will be asked to pay something like £2 or £3 per member to join and will have to decide where to raise these funds. We accept that this will be a challenge for a lot of societies. There are a number who have low membership rates. We recognise this and that there may be a need for a transition period. On the other hand some societies have already put up their membership fees in anticipation of the changes being introduced. Others recognise that they may not be valuing themselves and what they do by charging such low fees. We are interested in hearing your ideas about how we can fund the new body. What we do know is that we can’t expect to find support from elsewhere if we are to be independent. It will have strings attached and is in short supply.

The good news is that every member of civic societies which join will receive the offer of a free day access pass to any National Trust property. This is worth up to £14 and if you are already a member then you can use it to take a friend or relative who isn’t, so everyone can enjoy a good day out.

In a small way we hope the Civic Society Initiative has begun to give a taste of the benefits which could come – providing a website, two information bulletins, raising the media profile, securing the support of celebrities, building partnerships with nationally important organisations like English Heritage and the National Trust, helping civic societies get together, securing funding, launching the Street Pride campaign against street clutter, and lobbying on key issues such as the review of planning policy on the historic environment.

The wheels to set up the new national body are in motion. We hope to launch in April. By joining in your local voice will be stronger and you will be helping make every part of England a better place to live.

For further information and to keep in touch then send your email address to admin@civicsocietyinitiative.org.uk and visit the website at www.civicsocietyinitiative.org.uk where you can also download a copy of Own the future.

Widemarsh Street Refurbishment

2009-11-01T08:41:00.000Z

Herefordshire Council is running a special event on Monday, November 2, so people can have another chance to view plans for the refurbishment of Widemarsh Street in Hereford.

The event is being held at Saxty's from 2pm until 5.30pm where detailed plans of the scheme, including the type of surface being used for the carriageway and footway areas, street furniture and tree planting arrangements will be on display.

There is also the opportunity to see how traffic movements will be managed during the 40-week construction period to ensure minimum disruption to traders, residents and shoppers.

Local traders and residents together with other key stakeholders are being invited to a separate meeting to discuss the detailed plans.

It is planned to start the refurbishment work in late January.

Councillor Brian Wilcox, Herefordshire Council's cabinet member for highways and transportation, said: "This scheme will make a major improvement to this street which will become a major link to the proposed Edgar Street Grid development. We want the street to be as welcoming as possible to encourage more shoppers and tourists to visit Hereford."

"I would urge as many people as possible to attend this exhibition to see what is being planned and I would also like to assure traders and residents that we will keep disruption to a minimum during the construction period," he added.

Butter Market Competition

2009-10-28T08:28:00.000Z

HCS has learnt that on Monday the Butter Market Traders Association's steering group was advised that the market refurbishment is to be the subject of a two-stage RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) run competition. Further details as we get them.

Don't forget tonight's HCS AGM at Shire Hall.

What's important?

2009-10-26T08:15:00.000Z

The Measurement of Sustainable Procurement
A new report commissioned by emda and written by Adam Wilkinson and Associates concentrates on assessing and developing the practical measurement of economic, social, and environmental sustainability, so that these measures can be used within the procurement process. Adam gave the Hereford Civic Society an excellent and informative presentation in June entitled "SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT IN OUR LOCAL ECONOMY”.

Including such measures is achieved by means of a critical review of existing methodologies that provides a considered base from which to recommend examples of smart indicators to measure key elements of sustainability. These have then been piloted with a subset of emda's tier one suppliers.

Review highlights

Measurement and rigorous methodology are not a substitute for clearly stated policy intentions and prioritisation. A methodology for measuring impact can be applied, but to make it meaningful it needs to be used in the context of achieving the desired objective. This underpins the need for a strategic approach to procurement and is also the reason for the growth in thinking about outcome based approaches.

Any measures or methodologies that are used in procurement practice need to be objective and should therefore be blind to the aspirations of public policy in their application. The suggested solution is that by using a smart Key Performance Indicators (KPI) approach one can utilise the results of different methodologies across a number of different indicators that encompass the three dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social, and environmental). This leads to the rejection of monetised proxies such as some of those used by SROI, and new perspectives on environmental measurement. Both are seen as critical if a realistic and practical approach to using smart indicators in public procurement is to be successful.

Recommendations highlights

Develop a standardised approach to measuring strategic outcomes across public sector procuring organisations, bringing clarity to markets by better specifying what they wish to buy and supporting suppliers to respond to consistently applied measures.
Clearly link the organisation's impact measurement process to its strategic sustainability objectives by establishing a meaningful set of measures that support their delivery.
Develop an impact measurement tool that would enable the organisation to monitor all KPIs in contracts and then have the ability to accumulate these to feedback the results against the corporate objectives. Full report can be downloaded from www.impactmeasurement.net/emda

Adam Wilkinson advises Councils and other organisations in the public and private sectors on how to achieve procurement systems that maximise the local economy while preserving the environment. In his talk he explained the basic concept and methods, whereby Councils can monitor the contribution their expenditure - usually a major factor in their area - has on the regeneration and sustainability of their communities. For more information about his work or contact details go to www.adamwilkinson.com.

Local Eyes

2009-10-26T08:06:00.000Z

LocalEyes is a non-profit social enterprise offering something unique to local communities and organisations of every size.

If you have not already heard of LocalEyes, we would like to introduce you to this innovative online tool which can help every group, community or organisation to improve interaction, communication and decision-making.

If you have already been introduced to LocalEyes, we would like to deepen your understanding and explain the pilot projects which we are commencing in Herefordshire and Worcestershire, funded by the Ministry of Justice Innovation Fund. These projects will use VocalEyes (which is a part of the LocalEyes toolkit) alongside face-to-face meetings and innovative use of digital technologies (web, video, messaging) in order to revitalise engagement, participation and democratic processes in local communities.

And that is only the beginning of what LocalEyes has to offer....

Whether you work in public sector, private sector, voluntary sector or are in any way involved with a local group or community, or if you are a local business large or small which wants to develop its relationship with its local communities, we believe that we have something interesting to show you.

COME TO LOCALEYES FIRST PUBLIC EVENT LOCALLY : 1pm – 7pm MONDAY OCTOBER 26TH at The Kindle Centre, Hereford HR2 7JE. (The Kindle Centre is part of the ASDA complex at the Belmont roundabout on the A49, just south of the Wye River)

Whether you have only 15 minutes or an hour, please come and join us at your convenience and stay as long as you wish: from 1pm to 7pm we will run repeat presentations at regular intervals. Our team will be available to demonstrate LocalEyes and VocalEyes to you and answer questions as to how your group, organisation or business could make use of this tool, to benefit local communities through increased participation and engagement. Refreshments and snacks will be available.

We look forward to seeing you. It would help us to know if you are planning to attend and if so at approximately what time....

RSVP to nick.s@localeyes.org. Further information please ring Nick Sherwood on 01432 830204 / 07957 348885

Frome Court

2009-10-26T07:58:00.000Z

‘A Talk on the history of the Chapel and Convent’ (now Frome Court) by Desmond Keohane of St Michael’s Hospice. The talk will take place in the Day Hospital at 7.30 pm on the 11th of November 2009.

Further details from Greg Brunt, Chairman Friends of Longworth Chapel, greg@thebrunts.net Tel 01432 853200.

Liberty, Fraternity ... Capability?

2009-10-26T07:54:00.002Z

A new look at an old idea.

Cafe Green
39 St Owen's Street, Hereford
November 4th, 6 pm, free admission

Current political and economic thinking is based on a foolishly cynical conception of what a human being is. But everything changes if we take the idea of human capability seriously. Jesse Norman, Conservative PPC for Hereford, looks at what has gone wrong, and how to fix it. Q&A to follow.