Vicky Hancock

Herefordshire residents are being urged to check their electoral registration details or risk losing their chance to vote on decisions that affect them.

The annual canvass allows Herefordshire Council to keep the electoral register up to date, to identify who risks losing their voice at elections, and to encourage them to register before it’s too late.

Colette Maund, Electoral Services Manager at Herefordshire Council said: “The annual canvass is our way of making sure that the information on the electoral register for every address is accurate and up to date. To make sure you don’t lose your say at upcoming elections, please simply follow the instructions sent to you.”

Recent home movers in particular are urged to check their details. Electoral Commission research has found that recent home movers are less likely to be registered than those who have lived at the same address for a long time. In Great Britain, 92% of those who have lived in their home for 16 years will be registered, compared with 36% of people who have lived at an address for less than a year.

Residents with questions about their registration status can view Herefordshire Council’s Annual Canvass FAQs or contact the Electoral Services Office at 01432 260107.

From Monday 7 April 2025, batteries and small items of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) will be collected by bin collection crews as they do their usual rounds.

Electrical items and batteries should never be put into household rubbish or recycling bins as they can cause contamination or a fire. According to the National Fire Chiefs Council, battery fires in bins and at waste sites is at an all-time high and a survey of councils across the UK has found that 94% said that fires caused by batteries in domestic waste were an increasing challenge.

The new service is easy and convenient to use. Simply remove any batteries from your broken small electrical item and place it on top of your bin, and put batteries in a plastic bag also on top of the bin, on either recycling or waste collection day. The bin collection crew will then put them in a separate cage on the collection vehicle and take them for recycling.

Councillor Elissa Swinglehurst, Cabinet Member for Environment said: “I am delighted that we are able to provide this enhanced service to all residents across the county. Small electric items and batteries present a huge challenge if they are placed in household bins as they cause contamination and increase the risk of fire in collection vehicles or at waste sites. I hope all residents get behind this new service to ensure that even more of our waste is recycled in the right way.”

To find out more about this service, and to Get Clued Up on recycling, please visit our website.

This will consist of £10million for A & B roads and £3.5million for C & U roads, and follows on from the additional £8 million the council invested in resurfacing in 2024/25.

Works will begin in April and continue throughout the summer, with initial investment focussing on the A417, A438, A466, A4103, A4112, B4203, B4214, B4216, B4224, B4225, B4348, B4355, B4360 and B4361. Further investment and on our C and Unclassified road will also take place from April, with Highway Engineers working hard to deliver additional sites.

Cllr Barry Durkin, Cabinet Member for Roads and Regulatory Services, said: “Investing in Herefordshire’s highways is a priority for this administration and we are pleased to be able to announce an additional £13.5m for works across the county in 2025/26, which builds upon our additional investment of £8 million the previous year.

“Our approach to managing Herefordshire’s highways is always to carry out the right treatment at the right time in the right location, and we base this on the information gathered through our regular highways surveys. Investing in our county’s roads is a top priority, and this additional investment will help to strengthen the resilience of the network and deliver quicker, safer and smoother journeys.”

More information, including the first batch of scheduled works, can be found on our website.

A partnership of eight local authorities across the Midlands region, led by Lincolnshire County Council and Worcestershire County Council, have successfully bid for £20.64m of funding. These two consortiums are the last to be approved for funding after five other local authority partners, being led by Nottinghamshire County Council, secured £20.17m, therefore totalling £40.8m of funding for the partnership overall.

The funding comes from Government’s Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund, which will help deliver more than 16,000 charge point sockets across the region, with exact numbers determined as part of future contracts.

The bid was submitted in 2024. The thirteen (13) local authorities include Derby City, Derbyshire County Council, Lincolnshire County Council, Herefordshire Council, Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Staffordshire County Council, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Telford & Wrekin Council, Worcestershire County Council, Warwickshire County Council, Leicestershire County Council and Rutland County Council.

Almost 31% of Midlands residents do not have access to off-street parking. It is hoped that increasing the number of public on-street charge points  will make it easier for those without a driveway to make the switch to an electric vehicle. This will also increase the ease of travel and charging for all EV users in the county.

Two of the Midlands Consortiums tenders are out now with the final consortium to go to procurement Spring 2025, with a five-year delivery aim to install these across the partnership area.

Cllr Philip Price, Herefordshire Council Cabinet Member for Transport and Infrastructure, said: “This successful bid for funding is excellent news and a significant step forward for our electric vehicle strategy. The funding will increase the provision of charge points across Herefordshire to help meet the rapidly growing demand and support residents who own an electric vehicle but do not have off-street parking. We are pleased to be able to support electric vehicle owners, and hope the expanded infrastructure will give added encouragement to those considering making the switch to an electric vehicle.”

Future of Roads Minister, Lilian Greenwood, said: “Making charging as seamless and as easy as possible is a crucial to making the switch to electric a success, and rolling out over 16,000 chargers across the Midlands will make driving an EV cheaper and easier, especially for those without a driveway.

“Electric vehicles will power growth, cut emissions and improve lives in the Midlands and beyond, as we continue to deliver our Plan for Change.”

Maria Machancoses, CEO of Midlands Connect, said: “We are delighted that our collaboration with local authorities has resulted in a significant funding boost for electric vehicle infrastructure across the region.

“This is a great step in moving towards a reliable electric vehicle charging infrastructure network across the Midlands, which will become increasingly important as we move closer to the 2035 ban of diesel and petrol vehicles.

“We will continue to work with local authorities to accelerate the roll-out of electric vehicle infrastructure across the Midlands.”

Avian influenza circulates naturally in wild birds and when they migrate to the UK from mainland Europe over the winter they can spread the disease to poultry and other captive birds.

An Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) with mandatory biosecurity measures came into force across all of England and Scotland in January 2025, meaning it was a legal requirement for all bird keepers to follow strict biosecurity measures.

From Sunday 16 February 2025 these measures are being enhanced in the county when mandatory housing, which already in place in other parts of the country, will be extended to cover Herefordshire.

All bird keepers in Herefordshire must keep their birds housed to protect them from bird flu. This applies to pet birds, commercial flocks and just a few birds in a backyard flock.

The latest government updates on Avian Flu can be found on the government’s website.

Key Insights from RSN and Herefordshire Council’s analysis:

• The complete removal of the Rural Services Delivery Grant, previously essential for sustaining rural services, has significantly impacted our funding. This funding was worth £7 million to Herefordshire Council in 2024/25.
  This grant has been repurposed into the new Recovery Grant.
• The new £600m Recovery Grant heavily favours urban locales who receive over 7 times more of this grant than predominantly rural areas.
• On average, residents living in predominantly rural areas will pay 20% more in council tax than residents living in predominantly urban areas.
• The amount of money Herefordshire Council has to spend per head of population that is government funded will reduce by 3.14% in 2025/26, compared to an average increase of 8.21% in predominantly urban areas.
• The proportion of funding money Herefordshire Council has to spend per head of population that is government funded in 2025/26 is 36%, compared to an average of 44% across all upper tier councils.

Councillor Peter Stoddart, Herefordshire Council Cabinet Member Finance and Corporate Services, said:

“We have been clear in our response to the government’s provisional settlement, and throughout the current budget setting process for 2025/26, that the changes to government funding, and the current allocation distribution, unfairly favours urban over rural areas.

“As a result, we have had to take the extremely difficult decision to increase council tax for our residents by more than we had originally planned, to fill the funding gap to ensure we can continue to provide vital services to our local communities.

“We urge the government to reconsider its approach to the funding distribution and to engage with all rural local authorities to understand the profound impact of these decisions.”

Cllr Roger Phillips, Chair of the Rural Services Network, added:

 “The RSN’s commitment to rightful service provision remains unwavering, yet this settlement undermines the ability of rural local authorities to meet the needs of their residents. The data speaks volumes about the disparities that risk widening the urban-rural divide further—something we are determined to avoid. Rural areas are not asking for more than their fair share; they are demanding a fair chance to serve their communities adequately. It is crucial that the government recognises the inequity embedded in this settlement and rectifies the funding model to support all constituents equally. We seek fairness, not favouritism.”

Kerry Booth, Chief Executive, Rural Services Network, said:

“As Chief Executive of the Rural Services Network, I am deeply concerned about the implications of the recent government finance settlement on our rural communities. The persistent underfunding of rural areas not only challenges the sustainability of essential services but also neglects the fundamental principle of equity in public funding. Recent research commissioned by the Rural Coalition stresses the vast economic potential of rural England, which could contribute an additional £9 to £19 billion annually in tax revenues. This clearly shows that rural areas are not just scenic backdrops but are vibrant economic hubs critical to our national prosperity.

It is imperative that the government reconsiders its approach and ensures that funding allocations genuinely reflect the needs and challenges of all areas, urban and rural alike. Rural communities are integral to our nation’s growth strategy. Together, with a unified voice, we must advocate for a settlement that truly understands and addresses the unique circumstances of rural England, harnessing their full potential to enhance the quality of life and economic well-being across the country.”

Public realm services are vital to local residents, businesses and communities as they include the maintenance of roads, roadsides, green areas and public spaces, street cleaning, highway drainage, street lighting and highway winter safety services. They help ensure the spaces where we live, work and travel are safe and clean.

The council’s vision is that all of these essential services are ‘fit for the future’ – that embrace technology, automation and digital innovation, that support a transition to electric plant, vehicles and new materials for carbon reduction, that continually improve through investment in developments and people, and that maximise opportunities and resources.

To meet this vision, the council has started the process of finding the next provider of public realm services with a view to securing a new contractor from 1 June 2026.

Councillor Harry Bramer, Cabinet Member for Community Services and Assets said: “The transformation of all of our services to ensure they embrace best practice, deliver innovation and demonstrate value for money is an integral part of our Council Plan.

“To have the best possible public realm services is essential for all of our residents and businesses. We need to appoint the best possible provider to work with us over at least the next seven to ten years, to deliver the best for our communities, keeping our roads and public spaces well maintained, safe and clean.

“In the tender documentation for this major new contract, we’ve clearly set out what we expect from our next public realm services partner. Through pre-testing with the market we are confident that there are providers of high quality services willing to submit a tender, and we look forward to finding out more about how they can support.us to provide high quality services for Herefordshire that are fit for the future.”

A Cabinet decision on the chosen public realm service provider is expected to be made in November 2025. The current contract with BBLP living places ends on 31 May 2026, and the new contract will start on 1 June 2026.

Sir Thomas Dunne was the Chairman of the Association of the Lord-Lieutenants. He served as Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Hereford and Worcester from 1977, and then from 1998 he became the Lord Lieutenant of both Herefordshire and Worcestershire after the two counties were restored. He retired from the latter role in 2001 but continued his duties as the Lord-Lieutenant of Herefordshire until 2008.

In 2001 he became Chairman of the newly formed Cathedral Council from its first meeting. During his time as Chairman he oversaw an increase in the number of Cathedral prebendaries as just one of his many achievements.

In 1995 he was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, and then in 2008 he was made Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter.

His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Herefordshire, Edward Harley CBE, said:

“I am saddened to hear the news about Sir Thomas Dunne. As His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Herefordshire I would like to pay tribute to his remarkable tenure as Lord-Lieutenant for over thirty years. During that time, he worked selflessly to represent Her Majesty and to enhance the lives of so many across the counties of both Herefordshire and Worcestershire. He was respected by everyone who knew him, and my deepest sympathies are with his family, friends and all those who encountered him.”

Chairman of Herefordshire Council, Councillor Roger Phillips, added:

“Sir Thomas brought great dignity and commitment to public service over many decades, encouraging the military, judiciary, business and community sectors in our county. He combined respect for the position he held with a practical approach and great sense of humour.”

Flags at Herefordshire Council buildings have been lowered to half-mast in respect. They will remain at half-mast for the next seven days.

In response to the proposal to lower flags Lady Dunne, commented:

“I am deeply touched by this remarkable gesture to honour my dear husband. He lived and breathed Herefordshire, the county he loved. He would be very humbled by this response. All our family are so grateful for the affection in which he was held by so many Herefordshire people.”

There will be a service of thanksgiving in due course. For details please contact: thomasdunneservice@gmail.com