David Hunter-Miller

Ward Councillor Bromyard Bringsty – Peter Stoddart

I would like to start this Ward Update by thanking the staff of Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where I had my surgery for their care and professionalism, the staff at Nunwell Surgery for all of their support since my return home and finally to everyone who sent me a get well card or an email, it meant a lot to me. I am now, hopefully, able to resume my duties as normal.

Update from Herefordshire Council as at 10 January 2025

I am pleased to report that Herefordshire Council`s finance team has won the National Public Finance Award for excellence in Governance, Reporting and Assurance, and at a time of national problems with public sector auditing we were the first council in England to have our accounts signed off by external auditors. While it does not fill potholes or prevent flooding it does provide assurance that the management of the finances of the council are among the best in the country.

At this time of the year my major focus, as the cabinet Member for Finance, is the preparation of both the Revenue and Capital Budgets for Financial Year 2025/26. Following the announcement of the preliminary local government settlement on 19 December Herefordshire was hit badly by the removal of the Rural Support Grant which was worth £6.9M last year together with the Services Grant of £208k, a total loss of £7.1M. This has been offset by increases in other grants but which still left a negative balance of £2.5M from the expected funding. We have however, produced a provisional balanced budget of £232M. To achieve this has required us to scale back some planned activities across Directorates. The capital Budget includes a number of schemes including £1M of investment in children’s play areas, £1.2M for Hereford City and market town Public Realm investment, £1m of Flood risk mitigation, £3M for road safety and £30M for the Hereford Western Bypass Phase 1. Full details of both of these budgets are available on the Herefordshire Council website. Both of these provisional budgets will be briefed to Cabinet on 13 January and will then be subjected to the Scrutiny Management Board on the 14^th of January with the final budget being briefed to Cabinet on 23 January and Full Council on 7^th Feb.

In respect to local devolution, Central Government recently announced their plans for the reform of local government council structures. Effectively abolishing County Councils and District Councils and establishing regional strategic authorities and elected mayors with a minimum of 500,000 population. While we are already a Unitary council we have a population of 190,000 and would be considered not viable by this government. Worcestershire’s population is 600K and Shropshire with Telford and the Wrekin is 560,000.  Herefordshire Council will commence discussions regarding devolution with our neighbours in the very near future. We expect further updates in the New Year, and an all-member briefing to discuss what this means for Herefordshire will take place in early January.

The Government consultation on reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) closed on 24 September 2024. The revised NPPF is now in place. The reforms are part of wider changes the Government is making to achieve its new targets for new homes.  The planning reforms will reinstate the mandatory housing targets for local planning authorities
(LPAs).  The new standard method for calculating housing need means an estimated requirement for 27.3k of additional homes for Herefordshire.

Our Council Community Protection Team continue to crackdown on fly-tipping in the county.  Their role is so essential in keeping our communities safe as well as protecting the environment for all residents. This work serves a vital role in deterring for those intent on illegally disposing of waste. The number of fly tipping enquiries passed to the council since January 2024, stands at 234 plus an additional 109 littering enquiries and complaints leading to 4 convictions through the courts.

Trading Standards enforcement activity saw 23,860 illegal cigarettes and 18kg of illegal hand rolling tobacco seized. Over 100 advisory visits to vape retailers in Herefordshire were undertaken, resulting in 776 illegal vapes seized. The team completed two separate under-age test purchasing operations; this led to 1 criminal prosecution being taken and concluded.

In a similar vein, the council’s Corporate Fraud Service, have also been working hard to prevent fraud against the council. Whether this is council tax, business rate or social care fraud – the council is taking measures to prevent it. Crucially, we can’t and don’t do this without the support and vigilance of our local communities; over the last financial year for instance, heightened fraud awareness locally contributed to a 142% increase in new fraud referrals. It is important to not lose sight of why we do this; money fraudulently taken away from our hardworking tax-payers and businesses is money taken away from vital local services.

I would like to remind all Ward residents that using the Herefordshire Council website they can report non-emergency pot holes, drainage issues and Public Rights of Way (PROW) issues as shown below

I am also present at the Surgery in the Foyer of the Conquest Theatre on the first Saturday of the month from 10:30 – 12:00 for residents to meet with me in person.

It remains my pleasure to assist residents of the Bromyard Bringsty Ward with their Herefordshire Council issues and concerns. Please do not hesitate to contact me via telephone or email if you have any Herefordshire Council related issues.

Following my recent cancer surgery I am catching up on all of the outstanding issues in regards to the four Parish and Town Councils which make up the Bromyard Bringsty ward and my next ward update will provide a full update on these local issues.

If you wish to contact me, my contact details are

Councillor Peter Stoddart MBE MBA CEng
Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Services
Bromyard Bringsty Ward
Address: Herefordshire Council, Plough Lane, Hereford, HR4 0LE
Telephone: 07529 188727
Email:peter.stoddart@herefordshire.gov.uk

The Household Support Fund provides funding to support a wide range of low-income households, including families with children of all ages, pensioners, care leavers and disabled people. Support includes food vouchers, help with energy bills and wider essential costs. Local Welfare Provision support will also be available for those in need of emergency support over Christmas.

If you work for an organisation with an outreach to those in need, then we highly recommend you take a look at the different funding options that are available and share far and wide!

For more information, please visit the Herefordshire Council website.

The Household Support Fund is funded by UK Government.

Herefordshire Council is calling for people whose properties have flooded recently to get in touch.

Over the past week, many communities across the county have been affected by flooding. The council is asking those who have suffered property flooding to report it and share any images or videos on our website. This is part of our ongoing effort to understand the full impact of such weather events and to ensure we can respond and support those affected within our communities.

For the latest updates, please keep checking the Herefordshire Council website and follow @HfdsCouncil on Facebook and Twitter. Find out more about the support and guidance available on our website.

Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service provide fire safety advice to everyone. A free Home Fire Safety Visit (HFSV) can be carried out for the more vulnerable such as the elderly, people living alone and those with reduced mobility.

We have learnt that visiting people in their own homes to make sure they have working smoke alarms and a good level of fire safety awareness prevents fires and saves lives.

A HFSV is a FREE home safety visit that is tailored to an individual’s needs.

The visit includes a home safety check to help reduce the risk of fire in the home, including the checking and fitting of smoke alarms where required. This includes alarms suitable for those with a hearing impairment as well as giving advice on a fire escape plan.

If you require any further information regarding a HFSV or if you would like to see if you qualify for a visit, please contact us on  0800 032 1155  or visit www.hwfire.org.uk to complete an online home safety check HFSC (safelincs.co.uk).

We all want to see the health of the River Wye restored. The issues in the catchment are complex and will take the efforts of all stakeholders to make the improvements needed to restore the Wye.

Our new and improved River Wye website includes information on phosphorus, science and data, water resources, agriculture, regulation and more.

Included on the site are two videos about the English part of the Wye catchment, forming part of a series called ‘Approaches to Regulating Agriculture’. The episodes explain how phosphorus plays a role within the catchment, the challenges that come with its use and how we are working in partnership to bring about the change needed to restore the Wye.

We would really value your feedback on the site, which can be submitted on the feedback section. To visit, feedback and subscribe to the latest news, you can visit the site by searching online for ‘River Wye Engagement HQ’, visiting the link below:

https://engageenvironmentagency.uk.engagementhq.com/hub-page/river-wye-water-quality-2