Leadon Bank home for the elderly is to be demolished and rebuilt by new owners Shaw Healthcare, a project due to start this autumn and end in April 2006. Shaw will take over the operation of the Ledbury home from Herefordshire Council in April with the
The first spring lamb at Newbridge Farm Park is the result of an unplanned liaison between a black hebridean and an adventurous charollais ram. Normally lambs are only born at the park around the end of March and the Gardner family, who run the rural
A review of schools in the Forest of Dean will inevitably lead to proposals for change and possibly school closures. That is the view of the county councillor for Newent, Will Windsor Clive, who said he had concerns about the whole process. He spoke out
A PLAN to turn a butcher's shop in Ledbury into a tandoori and balti takeaway is being opposed by local businesses. Ledbury Independent Traders' Association has formally objected to the application for change of use by Birmingham-based Afsor Ali. Mr Ali
Legging narrow boats through canal tunnels in Birmingham and the Black Country could become an annual exertion for members of the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal Trust. Group spokesman Brian Fox explained that members had recently enjoyed a day
A nationally-known textile artist will give a talk to the Ledbury branch of the Embroiderers' Guild. The talk will take place at the group's next meeting on Friday, February 29, at 7.30pm, at the Community Hall, Lawnside Road. Linda Kemshall, who has
Twenty-three invited guests, including Ledbury town councillors, will meet Leominster MP Bill Wiggin during a visit to the Houses of Parliament. The party of nine councillors, including the mayor Keith Francis, will be shown round the building on Monday
CONCERNS have been raised about maintenance costs at Bromyard's high school after a blow to rebuilding plans. A move by Herefordshire Council to completely replace Queen Elizabeth High School's buildings have been put on hold after a county bid for Government
BROMYARD'S Hope Family Centre is to amend its planning application for a new building. The playgroup, currently housed in temporary buildings next to the forecourt of Top Garage, was granted planning permission for a new £320,000 centre last year. However
A taste of America comes to Pencombe Village Hall as Bromyard and District Guides and Brownies celebrate Thinking Day. Guides, Brownies and Rainbows from around the area will don their cowboy boots for the all-day event tomorrow (Saturday). Children will
ON Sunday, in their new club colours of white, green and black, seven members of Ledbury & District Harriers took part in Wye Valley Runners' 'Muddy Woody 6' race in Haugh Woods, Mordiford. Results: 16th Clifford Berry 0:45:20; 112th Kevin Bloxsome
HEREFORD United are desperate to avoid another home slip-up as they bid to stay in the Nationwide Conference title race. United have not produced their best form at Edgar Street in recent weeks, taking only four points from their last four home games
TITLE-chasing Hereford United are poised to field two new signings in tomorrow's home Nationwide Conference clash with Woking. They have brought back West Bromwich Albion defender Tamika Mkandawire for a second loan spell and also hope to secure another
THE long awaited re-development of the former Bennions garage site is expected to start next month. Andrew Symonds, of Cannerton Properties Ltd, has announced the time scale for the phased development and given a pledge to cause as little disruption as
The former Total petrol station, off the Gloucester Road, in Newent has been sold. The sale was confirmed this week by property agents, Lambert Smith Hampton, but the agents declined to identify the buyer at this stage. However, Stephen Morgan, of the
Newent's Little Pickles Playgroup took a half-term break this week, but staff met on Monday to plan a series of fun-themed events for next week. On Tuesday morning, youngsters will be making hats and other items with the theme of Pirates and Princesses
Hardy Plants, spring to the end of summer, will be the theme of a talk given by Gill Mullin to the May Hill Gardening Club, on March 9, from 7.45pm. The venue will be the May Hill Methodist Chapel.
Newent Community School has agreed with book company, The Book People, to operate a scheme called Schoollink. Books ordered by pupils from a catalogue for themselves will lead to points being awarded to the school. These points can then be exchanged for
PROVIDING outdoor benches and landscaping the central quad are just two requests that the Friends of Newent Community School are looking into as potential projects.
Herefordshire Council is planning to raise its Council Tax demand by 10 per cent. The move would mean an average Band D bill rising from £925 to £972. Added to that will be demands from the police, fire brigade and town or parish councils. The council's
The family of Rachel Whitear, whose body is to be exhumed as part of an ongoing police investigation, say they have no regrets about making the anti-drugs video Rachel's Story. The new police inquiry is examining whether her death was, in fact, due to
Somerfield in Ledbury is seeking a relaxation of planning restrictions that prevent lorries unloading in the yard outside the delivery bay. Currently, lorries making deliveries to the New Street supermarket have to load and unload inside the bay, with
Ledbury's Baptist minister Simon Minshull said farewell to the Mums and Toddlers Group in the church hall on Friday. Mr Minshull said that he and his wife Susanne had mixed emotions about leaving for a new life in Sweden. He said: "I keep saying to people
Protesters opposed to traffic lights at Newtown Crossroads began a traffic count on Friday. All four junctions were monitored and a tailback of around 20 vehicles was recorded at one point on the Leominster road. The data will now be collated and the
A series of Lent lunches to raise money for the link between Ledbury Deanery and the Tanzanian parish of Mtwara will take place again this year. The first event takes place at the Old Pasture, Hillfield Drive, courtesy of Paddy Roseveare, on Friday, February
Ledbury Heritage Centre was open for half-term this week and gave visitors a first glimpse of the major changes for the 2004 season. Downstairs exhibits have been completely re-shuffled to create the sense of a greater floor area, while structural engineers
A BURGLAR undergoing a course to help quit heroin told a judge how he is now sitting on a council as an adviser on drug-related crime. Mark Stewart, 26, of Barnet Avenue, Ledbury, appeared at Gloucester Crown Court for a review of his progress on a drug
An old-fashioned wooden "airer" is being sought by Ledbury-based rag rug expert Ann Davies. Mrs Davies supplied rag rugs used in the film Calendar Girls which will feature in a replication of the set at the Sewing for Pleasure exhibition, held at Birmingham's
Herefordshire User Group (HUG) will hold a meeting in Bromyard on Tuesday. The self-help charity, run by and for users of mental health services in Hereford-shire, will hold a meeting at the Public Hall, Rowberry Street at 10.30am. The meeting will include
Visitors to Bromyard Leisure Centre could be forgiven for thinking they were in the Wild West. Children were asked to don their stetsons or get out the face paints for a cowboys and native Americans themed programme of activities. Games, sports and crafts
Bromyard Local History Society filled the Methodist Hall to capacity at its meeting on Friday. A number of society members were given the chance to speak on their particular interests. Among the speakers were Pauline Perkins, who gave a talk on the history
Bromyard and District Garden Club's next meeting is a talk by Judy Berrow, of the National Gardens Scheme, at the Bromyard Centre on Wednesday at 7.45pm. Mrs Berrow will give an illustrated talk on 15-20 gardens around the county and the background of
LEDBURY TOWN 1, BROMYARD TOWN 1 IT took a penalty and a deflected goal to beat two in-from goalkeepers as Saturday's mid-table clash at Ledbury ended in a draw. Playing down the slope in the first half, Bromyard enjoyed the majority of possession, with
THE next production by the Colwall Players is Mother Goose, which is being performed at Colwall Village Hall on February 25-28 at 7.30pm with a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm. Tickets are £6 and £3 concessions with a discount being offered to groups of ten
Celebrities handling hawks could be one of the highlights of a 'farewell to Newent' party being planned by the National Birds of Prey Centre. The centre has opened for one final season under current ownership, after a move to America was delayed before
A reader at St Mary's, Elaine Frampton, is planning visit to Romania in September to meet a social worker funded by Newent churchgoers. In will be Miss Frampton's second visit to the country in just two years. She will meet a Romanian social worker who
ANYONE with concerns about local rail services will have the opportunity to put their questions direct to two top industry bosses at a meeting organised by the Malvern Gazette & Ledbury Reporter next week. The man in charge of Central Trains, deputy
A former John Masefield High School pupil has won the offer of a coveted place to study at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre. Holly Jones, 17, would take one of just 15 places a year available at the theatre and will study for a bachelor of arts degree in stage
AN original Roman road to Stretton Grandison has been unearthed at Stretton Sugwas by archaeologists. In 1999, Herefordshire Council's archaeological team announced survey results showing that Stretton Grandison was probably a sizeable Roman settlement
A SCHEME for a new bungalow and detached garage in Ledbury will be decided by planners next week. The planning application is for The Priory Gatehouse site, off the Worcester Road. A decision on permission will be taken by at a meeting of Herefordshire
THE cost of providing police and fire cover in Herefordshire and Worcestershire is to rise substantially. Recruiting more police officers, increasing support for victims and witnesses and improving the way police calls are handled will mean an increase
A large crowd gathered at Ross Road, Ledbury, last Sunday where the top two teams in Division One of the Soccer Site Malvern League met. They were not disappointed as leaders Oak Allstars and last year's champions, visitors Bishop's Frome, served up a
Ledbury Swifts U10s 9, Bartestree Colts U10s 0 ON Saturday Ledbury Swifts entertained Bartestree Colts in the Herefordshire Junior Football League, the 50th competitive league and cup game this year group has played for the Swifts. Adam Paske, A J Smith
Work on giving Newent's skatepark a facelift is set to start on Monday, when a team of young people from the Prince's Trust will arrive on site. Some parts of the wooden ramps on the skatepark are rotten and need replacing. There has also been some vandalism
The Newent United Charities, a body that gives small grants to those in need in the parish, is inviting fresh applications for assistance. Initial contact should be made in writing to the Clerk to the Newent United Charities, 29 West View, Newent.
