I’ve combined these two months because December was quite a quiet month, not least because I went down with shingles which is something I very much do not recommend.

That said, it has been quite a busy January.

Around the ward

Many residents have contacted me to raise concerns about litter in Churchill Gardens. This does get much worse in term time when many hundreds of college students use the park. I have spoken to senior managers from all three colleges on Folly Lane, spoke to the Sixth Form’s Student Council and the relevant manager from Balfour Beatty on behalf of Herefordshire Council. Some sweeping of the path through the park has been undertaken and we have agreed to undertake litter picking with student volunteers each month. The first litter pick took place in January and was a lot of fun. We collected around five bags of litter and I think the park looked great after our efforts.

The next litter pick is on 6th February at 1pm. Local residents would be most welcome.

After quite a lot of wrangling I managed to get a new litter bin installed in Bulmer Avenue (to replace the bin that was replaced several years ago). Many people (including me) walk their dogs along Bulmer Avenue and residents regularly raise the issue of dog fouling in the area. A new bin won’t solve that problem but it should help. I will keep raising the issue of dog fouling with Herefordshire Council.

I have been putting pressure on the council to find a better way of securing the Old School Lane park. there have been too many unauthorised encampments there in recent years and we need to make it harder for people to access the land.

I’m also keeping pressure on the council and the police to tackle speeding on Old School Lane. It’s a slow process but I’m not going to give up.

I spoke to residents on Lingen Avenue who were, rightly, angry at the damage that had been done to their verges by a reckless lorry. The company has accepted responsibility and I expect the verges to be restored at no cost to the council. I’ll be keeping my eye on this to make sure it happens in a timely fashion.

I had a meeting with a representative from the Royal National College for the Blind (I’m also married to the Principal but it wasn’t her) to look at how parking on the double yellow lines at the College Road Co-op makes things really tricky for visually impaired students. Many residents are very concerned about parking in this area and I have raised the issue with senior managers at the council. It’s not an easy issue to tackle but I am determined that we will find a solution.

I attended the resident’s meeting at Bryngwyn Court and came away with some issues to look at including dog fouling on the footpath between Bulmer Avenue and Bryngwyn Court and some issues with bins at the scheme which, I hope, have now been tackled.

I’ve also been out and about making sure that residents know who I am and that they can contact me with any concerns they have and I will do my best to help.

At the council

I wasn’t able to attend Council in December because of my shingles. Councillors are not allowed to take part in Council online. I did watch the session online and was very pleased to see that the LibDem motion to ensure the council starts to take a more active role in delivering affordable housing was passed by a majority. You can read the papers and watch a recording of the 8th December meeting on the Council’s website.

I was allowed by the chair of the Planning Committee to speak to the Committee online to urge them to refuse an application to extend a house of multiple occupation on Barrs Court Road. A local resident also spoke eloquently about the issues experience by residents in the area. Sadly the committee voted to approve the application though with conditions. You can read the papers and watch a recording of the 13th December meeting on the Council’s website.

I attended a meeting of the Childrens and Young People’s Scrutiny Committee to look into how the council is doing in driving improvement in Children’s Services. It is clear that the council is making improvements but not quickly enough. We also looked into how the Herefordshire Safeguarding Children Partnership is doing. Partnership working in this area needs to improve but again, there are signs of progress. You can read the papers and watch a recording of the 23rd January meeting on the Council’s website.

At the City Council I attended the Climate and Biodiversity Committee where we awarded a grant to Putson community Association to support the installation of solar powered street lights in Stadlestone Circle.

I attended the ceremony to make Emma Hurds the sixteenth Junior Mayor of Hereford. This was an excellent event with young people taking leading roles. Emma will serve one year as Junior Mayor and will also join the Youth Council. She gave an excellent speech outlining her priorities for the year.

I also attended a meeting of the full City Council. We had a good debate on the budget and in the end, thanks to LibDems being the majority party on the City agreed a budget that means we will not increase the City Council’s portion of the council tax for the coming year. The City Council’s portion of your overall council tax bill is quite small but I was pleased that we have managed to keep this bit flat.

Anything else

I also attended a range of training sessions, briefings and other events to make sure I am well informed and able to try to influence decisons at both councils. I have been working with a number of residents who are experiencing specific issues around the ward.