Hereford Times - 7th January 2016 - Page 31
Hereford Times - 7th January 2016 - Page 31
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| Date | 07/01/2016 |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Format | |
| Language | English |
| Area | Hereford Times |
| Collection Holder | |
| Date of Publication | 7th January 2016 |
| Transcription |
herefordtimescom Thursday, January 7, 2016 THE HEREFORD TIMES 31 readers'times online Some of your online comments and tweets Civic group blasts plan I HEREFORD Civic Society said the planned 22.5 million refurbish- ment of Hereford's High Town is "entirely frivolous". Public consultation on the Herefordshire Council-led idea, which could take up to four years to complete ended on January 3. l Caldicutt: What a waste of money! I Hereford Voice: High Town was only paved With- in the last 5 years was it not? I Lakeselus: Thank good- ness for a respected civic organisation having some common sense, something entirely absent from the city fathers. Not only frivo- lous, but also irresponsible and wilfully wasteful of public funds. If this goes ahead it will be the ultimate vanity project perpetrated by foolish peo- ple who have no vision of what image Hereford should present to the world. I 1asommerville1:Why does every spend of taxpay- ers money have to be a major project? The last ‘refurbishment’ was shod- dily executed — witness the loss of the brass lettering. Why was that put down?And a good tidy up is MOST READ STORIES ON OUR WEBSITE THIS WEEK Police investigate disorder in Credenhill: Two injured Burglars trash petrol station on Christmas Day Flood barriers erected in Hereford Man steals keys from ignition as shopper tries to leave Tesco Six county residents recognised in New Year Honours list FIND US AT: herefordtimes.com ONLINE POLL RESULT break them. all that is required. Restoring the buildings devastated by fire five years ago may be an even better move! I MANY people make New Year's resolutions and many people But just how quickly do people give up on their promises? We asked readers how long they usually keep their resolutions for. Sadly 28 per cent of those who voted said their resolutions lasted just 24 hours, while 28 per cent said they made it to a month. Meanwhile 23 per cent said their resolutions generally last one week, and just 15 per cent said they lasted the whole year. Six per cent of voters said their resolutions last around six months. Good luck with yours if you made them. I IN his new year message West Mercia's police and crime commis- sioner Bill Longmore said: "My time in office will finish in May, but i have high hopes for what we can achieve for Herefordshire in the first half of 2016, and the legacy I can hopefully leave behind after the PCC elections. I ad47uk: I did not vote in the PCC election the first time around and I will not vote this time either. They should have left it as it was. just another way to waste money. Just like the combined Police and fire station, we will be the ones that will end up paying for it. I Fairguy: After his elec- tion he appointed his friend and campaign manager his deputy! I wrote to Longmore about my con- cerns regarding policing in North Herefordshire. Longmore did not reply I Ubiquel: In June 2014 he announced that he was going to give £15 million a year for the next 3 years to “tight” Rural crime. I emailed his office asking how the money was going to be spent, after over 12 emails , six from his office including one saying that Mr Longmore wished to speak to me —I gave his office my phone number plus my availability over seven days. Iwas told twice when he would phone me , no call — after a few days I received apologies. Gave in. told them to forget it . THE British Chambers of Commerce hosted its first ever Business and Education Summit in December which saw Chamber members from all over the UK come together to discuss ways to have a closer relationship between the business and education sectors. For this talking point, I thought I would look back on the biggest changes in the Education Sector here in Herefordshire which had an Education Sector’ boom in 2015 with new develop- ments and initiatives tak- ing shape. Back in March we discov- ered that a new NMITE (New Model in Technology and Engineering) universi- TALKING POINT JOANIE ROBERTS . Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce ty will be based in HerefOrd and is planning on having its first 300 students on campus by September 2017. This initiative is supported by Chancellor George Osborne and Universities Minister Greg Clark, and is radically different to tradi‘ tional higher education (HE) approaches to engi- neering/ tech education. During the summer, coun- ty students excelled with their academic studies with 72% of school leavers achieving both an English . and Maths GCSE A*-C, and 60% of students achieving five GCSEs or equivalent at grades A*- C. Sixth form and college leavers, again left with out- standing results, as over 99% achieved A—Levels and equivalent passes with11.4% of students gain- ing the top grade of A*. Businesses across the county were delighted to see such excellent grades being achieved by future job candidates across a range of academic and vocational courses. Then in November we saw the launch of the most recent addition to Herefordshire’s HE institu- tions, The Hereford University Centre. This is jointly run and funded by Herefordshire and Ludlow College and the University of Worcester. It is an exciting new venture for encouraging participa- tion in HE, especially among those who may not have considered it before. It also highlights what great work the college does already with 400 students already enrolled on univer- sity level courses. It was a great year for edu» cation in Herefordshire and I‘m looking forward to see- ing what 2016 brings. Women facing hardship over pensions WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality) is an action group campaign- ing against the unfair changes to the state pen- sion age imposed on women born on or after April 6 1951 (and how the changes were implemented). This includes both the 1995 and 2011 Pension Acts. Many older women — including many in Herefordshire — are not: aware that they have paid enough National Insurance contributions to quality for the basic state ension and do not realise at they are still paying contributions even though they have built up the maximum require- ment of 35 years. Many women have not been given enough notice about the changes and are facing real hardship. This campaign is not only to assist women born in the 19508 but also to raise awareness that the Government needs to ensure that they give enough notice to any chang- es to the state pension. We currently have a peti- tion that has over 48,000 sig- natures. To present this to be heard by Parliament we need 100,000 signatures. To support the campaign please go onto Facebook and type in WASPI. This will then bring up the cam- paign with details of how you can support it. JULIA ROSE Arran Avenue, Hereford Recognising value of CAB IN a recent Hereford Times you covered the potential closure of Herefordshire CAB in June 2016 if alter- native funding cannot be found. Ifeel that the atti- tude of Herefordshire Council is like the organi- sation that chooses to pay for an ambulance to be parked at the bottom of a cliff instead of erecting a fence to prevent accidents. This despite the statement in the budget consultation that the council wish to put more preventative services in place. They have a fully accredited. effective pre ventative service already in place and are in danger of losing it. Many of the clients I see as a volunteer have been sent to CAB by staff in council departments. Clearly they see the value. Sadly. it appears the high- er echelons and the North Herefordshire MP do not share this view. but I sup pose if you are getting a good salary, in secure employment and enjoy rela- tively good health maybe there is no need for the CAB, or am I being cynical? MICHAEL HILL Browning Road, Ledbury .I, ANOTHER year and another couple face being split up by immigration officials. To most, Lee and Tanja Furnell are like many other couples liv- ing in Herefordshire Mr Furnell works fu||<time while his Wife looks after their two—year—old son. Their “crime" - in the eyes of the Home Office - is down to Mrs Furnell’s Macedonian passport. So, despite spending 26.000 and countless hours on paper— work, they face the prospect of seeing their little family split up Last year, we reported on the ridiculous situation of David and Maria Summers. The grandparents, who have been married for 45 years, are now living apart on either side of the letters of queries. for consideration. number. any headline. Code. Holbom. London 501 N 2J0 I Established 1832 I Osney Mead. Oxford. company. Home Office must learn family values CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LETTERS PAGES l Please keep letters to a maximum of 200 words so that as many views as possible can be represented on- these letters pages. The editor reserves the right to co: Local issues will take precedence. A daytime telephone number must be supplied in case Requests for anonymity will be considered and Will be at the editor‘s discretion. Anonymous letters will not be considered Letters should be submitted by first post on Monday PRINT AND ONLINE READERSHIP I 23,022 weekly circulation (ABC Jan-Dec 2014i l 104,264 weekly print/online readers i1 week in print. 4 weeks online, Jicreg/Etelmar Oct 20151 I 195,556 Monthly average online users iAug-Noy 2015; (Publisher’s statement, Aug-Nov 2015i COMPLAINTS - WHO TO CONTACT The Hereford Times adheres to the Editors Code of Practice Wm?" you can find at wwwherefordtimescom. We are regulated Dy the ndececdeo‘. Press Standards Organisation, Complaints about stories snou d :9 referred firstly to the Editor by email at: complaints ' nerefordtimes :: r or by post to the editor at Holmer Road, Hereford HR4 90.5 It is essential that your email or letter is headed ‘Cornpiaint~ in the suc~ iect line and contains the followmg informaron. Your name. email address. postal address and daytime ta emcee O The newspaper title or websne. preferably a copy of the sion, :r at least the date, page number or websne address of the artiste and O A full explanation of your complaint by reference to the Editors if you do not prowde any of the information shows in s may see. or prevent us dealing WlII’l your complaint. Your personai de a is .v. only be used for administration purposes If we cannot reach a resolution between us then ‘ by email at contact; ipsoco uk or by post at : lf complaining about third party comments on our websne articles ycs should use the “report this post“ function online next to the corona": PUBLICATION DETAILS The Hereford Times, incorporating the Leominster Advertiser. Published by Newsquest (Hereford) Limited at Holmer Road. Hereford, and printed by Newsquest (Oxfordshire) Limited at Newspaper House. Newsquest Media Group Publication — a Gannett Registered as a newspaper with Royal Mail. Atlantic after their proposed move to Holme Lacy from Canada encoiintered ,3"; because immigration chi wouldn t accept their rate ship was gen ine Here‘ Susan McLaughlin also an emotional plea i: t" Minister Dafld Cam. (T 16777.: Hari'eteran to sew— ”T." ‘n Amerscan .viie an .ieir fa", year—old daughter in 'ne 4V if Mr Cameror rea ly :ces believe in farm y a use We” ' 3 Government mus: 533' o e seeing the breakup ‘ c: . senseless bureauzrati: cess. IJnlCl'l Dancers t: a. anti—immigration ’cbb, you can ccnfacr o Halton Hoe» “ |
| Newspaper name | Hereford Times |