Change rules for live music

I NOTE with interest comments in Hereford Times, January 30, regarding under 18s attending live music venues.

The main complaints seem to be as follows:

* Many touring bands will not visit Hereford as many of their fan base are likely to be under 18, and, therefore, they risk playing to a half empty room.

* Bands who are under 18 are not allowed to perform at venues where alcohol is served.

I am extremely concerned and frustrated by the comments, suggesting that to get round this venues can apply for a temporary variation of their licence, and that alternative “dry venues” could be used for music events.

These views are very out of touch and are completely missing the point.

What Hereford needs is a thriving music scene, where bands that tour the country can come and play here, to rooms full of people both over and under 18.

A scene where people are encouraged not to concentrate on getting drunk, downing shots and fighting in the streets, but to develop an appreciation of live music, in a safe and friendly environment, where those of legal age are able to enjoy a few drinks socially while enjoying the performance of the band.

This is an opportunity to completely change the drinking culture in the city of Hereford, something that is clearly a problem.

Many young people feel that there is nothing to do other than to have pre-drinks at home, head in to the pubs about 9pm, and then onto a club, where they are constantly drinking and damaging their health.

If venues were given the opportunity to show youngsters that there is an alternative to this, and get them into the live music scene before they reach the age of being able to go out and get drunk, then this could go a long way to making a very positive change in the next generation of young Herefordians.

Also, allowing young bands the opportunity to play in licensed venues is an experience that can only encourage them to keep going and improve, rather than quitting out of frustration at not being able to perform to an audience anywhere other than their own school/college.

This would also open the eyes of other youngsters to the idea of forming a band themselves, and encourage them to do something constructive with their time.

All the time we’re hearing of funding being cut from various projects for youngsters, putting them in a position where there is less and less for them to do.

Well this is a great chance to actually do something for the good, giving them an opportunity to do something positive.

I suggest looking at Gloucester Guildhall as a fantastic example of a venue that allows everyone 14 and over to attend gigs, with alcohol available to those that are old enough to have it, and very little anti-social behaviour.

Hereford Live is a movement that is trying to encourage and promote live music in Hereford and the surrounding areas, but when a large quantity of people in the catchment area are not permitted to go along and support these events.

Hopefully some of the things that I’ve said will make the council stop and think about what this could mean for Hereford, and see the benefits that changing the rules regarding allowing youngsters attend and/ or perform at gigs in licensed premises could bring to the city.

TRISTAN EDWARDS Kernal Road, Hereford

Victim of parking rule

JUST prior to Christmas I visited Hereford to go shopping on a Saturday morning and I parked my car behind the town hall in the staff car park which is open to public use at the weekends and on bank holidays.

I had used this car park previously on a number of occasions but on this particular visit I parked in the mayor’s parking space.

I received a parking fine, to which I asked to be excused on the grounds that I thought that we, the public, could park anywhere as long as it was at the weekend or a bank holiday. The sign at the car park adjacent to the mayor’s parking place does not say “do not park here at anytime”, so are there any other victims like myself who have been fined by this dubious parking rule?

DIANE WIGGINS Great Western Road, Gloucester

Planners are democratic

C MILLS of Eardisland is disappointed that the planners rejected two proposed out-of-town superstores at Leominster and criticises the objectors, Readers’ Times, January 30.

The local planning process may have its flaws but, thank heavens, it still operates within a system in which supporters or objectors are entitled to make their views known.

It’s called democracy.

From December 2012 the proposed superstore schemes benefited from considerable publicity in the local media.

Supporters had every opportunity to have their say (as they did in some numbers in Ledbury over a similar application) but the town and county councils received just a handful of letters of support.

The objectors played their part but there were other important factors behind the decision, including worrying retail impact assessments from trade experts together with strong recommendations for refusal from the council’s officers on a range of planning grounds.

Both superstores were judged to be diversionary “one stop shop” destinations which would pull the rug from under the feet of businesses in Leominster town centre.

Significant trade loss was predicted at both town centre supermarkets, the Co-op and Aldi.

These stores were said to perform an important role.

Because of their siting many customers regularly do “linked trips” to other shops. Loss of footfall at those stores would impact on businesses of all kinds.

There is evidence around the country of town centres which fell into a sad spiral of decline following large- scale out-of-town retail development.

Leominster itself took a big hit in the early 1990s when the opening of its first out-of-town food store was followed by a rash of shop closures.

Since then it has shown a degree of resilience but the view of traders I have spoken to is that there’s a limit to just how much a town can take.

More recently the town centre suffered the loss of its last free public car park.

One young High Street trader, David Mifflin, of Parry’s Greengrocers, spoke at the county planning committee on the effect on small businesses.

He said: “We carry on, we adapt. But I am appealing to you today – please do not push us over the edge.”

The central shopping precincts of our Herefordshire market towns define them.

Without a reasonable level of trade they could become bleak and unattractive places.

They are not perfect, there is room for improvement, but they are worth fighting for.

PETE BLENCH, Luston, Leominster

Delighted at performance

I WAS pleased and delighted to see John Kyrle High School, in Ross, being featured having been placed in the top 10 per cent of schools and colleges in the A-level Performance System (ALPS).

Parents and students at Hereford Sixth Form College will be delighted to know the college was in the top two per cent on this measure, confirming its place as one of the best A-level providers in the country.

The college will be celebrating its 40-year record of excellence with a grand reunion event for all ex-students and staff on July 5, from 1pm to 4pm, details of which will appear on the college website.

JONATHAN GODFREY Principal, Hereford Sixth Form College

Reunion of ex-pupils

MICHELLE Leech (nee Harris), a few other ex- pupils and I are arranging a school reunion for the 1981 leavers of The Minster School, Leominster.

We would love to hear from you and really hope you can come along.

The reunion is planned for June 7 at The Royal Oak, in Leominster, and there are tickets to cover the set-up costs.

Please get in touch with us and tell anyone else who left that year.

Let’s make this a great success.

Michelle can be contacted at 9 Cranes Lane, Leominster, or email me at suemoss40@btinternet.com or write to 92 Bridge Street, Leominster.

We really look forward to seeing you all again.

SUE MOSS Leominster

Confidential information?

In March GP practices across England will be required to supply patients’ personal and confidential medical information to the Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Leaflets which were sent to all households recently do not mention that the information will possibly be made available to organisations outside the NHS e.g. commercial organisations. However, any patient can opt out by notifying the GP, but once you have opted in, you cannot change your mind.

J Lucas Godiva Road Leominster

Thanks for sponsorship

I WOULD like to thank all those who so generously gave money to help with my sponsorship for the Wheels on the Western Front Challenge, when I was collecting in the foyer of Sainsbury’s Hereford recently. I would also like to thank the staff who facilitated the collection.

The challenge is raising funds for ABF, the soldiers’ charity, with a five-day cycle from London to Compeigne, along the Western Front, to commemorate the centenary of the First World War. Two hundred cyclists will be taking part and we will be visiting many of the memorials and cemeteries along the route, the most notable being at Menin Gate, where we have been recognised by the Last Post Society as being an important commemorative event, and granted permission to lay a wreath at the official ceremony on August 5.

We are still recruiting cyclists, so if any of your readers would like to be a part of this event, further information and registration can be found at: www.

greenjerseycycling.co.uk/ wheelsonthewesternfront.

If readers are unable to join the challenge, but would like to support the event, I would welcome their sponsorship.

Donations may be made at: www.justgiving.com/Paul-Morrisroe

PAUL MORRISROE, King’s Acre Road, Hereford

Constructive debate vital

I AM grateful for your Readers’ Times. The January 30 issue highlighted letter ‘City’s history repeats...’ eloquently described how the invaders disadvantaged the Saxon city. Have we any evidence that our present council’s plans address our concerns now? Other letters comment on the controversial ‘gagging law’ (passed by one vote on party whip). I believe there is value in the expression of conflicting views but effective democracy demands constructive resolution. All citizens of Herefordshire deserve better answers.

I believe that the best societies, the best workplaces, the best schools are those run where all feel valued and feel pride – where there is an underlying consensus and purpose that encourages all citizens to feel involved and thought-through decisions have been made for the common good.

I remember the days of Charter88. This pro-democracy movement held its genuinely representative council meeting with more than 60 members – all well briefed, no-one allowed more than two minutes or comeback (unless specifically invited by the chairman), no opinions without data and an excellent, concise factual summary before a vote. In just one case the chairman announced that, as there was no agreement, more work on the contentious issue was needed by the chief executive. This was done and the matter became clear.

Could Herefordshire Council operate like this?

Or do we need a different forum? Writing – or reading – a letter is no substitute for constructive, authoritative debate and decision-making.

Barbara Ferris Wits End Dinedor

Sewage and silt an issue

PLANNING approval has recently been given to South Shropshire Housing Association for a development of 14 affordable houses in the village of Orleton, in north Herefordshire.

Fine, no-one would dispute that there is a need for local people.

However, there is a problem in that the foul and storm water drainage from the development outfalls to an inadequate sewerage system in an area badly affected by flooding for many years although now Severn Trent Water has agreed to divert a length of sewer from some residents’ gardens affected by overflowing foul water manholes.

However, STW has publicly admitted that this will make no difference whatsoever to the overall level of flooding in the village, which suffers from storm water from surrounding roads and fields filling up the highways drains and sewerage system to capacity.

Sewage could still bubble up through the manholes outside the school and raw sewage still regularly overflow from the village pumping station into the Millbrook polluting the river .

The roads through the village could still be regularly affected by flooding.

SSHA, STW and the planners have pushed through this ill-advised scheme regardless of the problems faced by residents affected by floods and sewage in their roads and driveways.

Developers should ensure that there is an adequate system of drainage available.

It is doubtful if a private individual would obtain permission to drain from a proposed dwelling into a sewer regularly filled to capacity and frequently overflowing into public areas.

Would the plans for the proposed housing have been approved if the whole of the planning committee had been made aware of the true scale of the problems that the residents of Orleton have had to suffer for many years.

Since nothing will be done in the immediate future about storm water flooding and since it would be too expensive to improve the foul water drainage system it seems only sensible not to exacerbate the situation by building more houses until these problems have been addressed. When I am next wading through 18 inches of silt and sewage I suppose I can draw comfort from the fact that some of it will have come from ‘affordable’ housing!

R A Flemons Orleton

Why target was missed

YOUR article headlined “NHS team runs rule over trust’s referral targets” carried in your edition of February 6 addresses an important issue. You refer to the performance of Wye Valley NHS Trust in relation to the national two- week wait target which requires us to offer 93 per cent of patients an appointment in the breast clinic within two weeks of their GP referring them.

During November the trust did send appointments within two weeks to 95 per cent of patients.

However, patients can exercise their right to choose and move their appointment beyond two weeks; four did so in that month, meaning we missed our target.

Jill Donnelly, Consultant Breast Surgeon Hereford County

Hospital Back off, Big Brother!

AS A member of a group which leads monthly walks in the beautiful county of Herefordshire, I have a particular interest in the maintenance of public footpaths.

Thank you to Jessica Phillips for informing readers of the Hereford Times of the good work that has been undertaken by Arthur Lee and other volunteers to ensure easy access to the countryside by repairing stiles and gates.

Thank you, too, for alerting us to Balfour Beatty’s obsession with Health and Safety. This bureaucratic nonsense kills local initiative and enterprise.

Your article states that Balfour Beatty Living Places are “looking for a solution to the situation”. I offer a solution – back off !

We pay our council tax to Herefordshire Council not Balfour Beatty. Do we have to tolerate this interference? Cannot Herefordshire Council over-ride Big Brother?

Brian Hubbard Belmont

Dredging kit auction fury

I read in this week’s Mail on Sunday that the Environment Agency has been selling off dredging equipment that could bolster the relief effort in the Somerset Levels.

The machinery has been brought under the hammer at Brightwells Auction House, near Hereford, 100 miles from the worst-affected areas.An agency spokesman insisted: “These sales do not affect our capacity to dredge, as we will pull in contractors”. How much is that going to cost the taxpayer?

Monica Beavan, Whitecross Hereford