Road Closure

The C1031 Lyonshall From A480 To Cabal Lane, Lyonshall, between Rhyse Villa and Spondleigh. Grid Ref : 334821 / 257185

The said closure is required due to blockage removal works being carried out  and the likelihood of danger to the public while the works are taking place.

Rhyse Lane C1031 will be closed for approx. 1 day on 28th February 2022

The next Lyonshall Parish Council meeting planned on 13th January is POSTPONED and will not go ahead due to the national and local concerns with the spread of the omicron variant of COVID.

The next meeting will be held February 10th 2022. 

This is the final Diary for 2021 so don't miss out. Many thanks to all contributors to the diary through the year. Particular thanks to Julia Evans for the laborious task of editing and keeping us all informed of what's going on with the wildlife of our parish. Isobel has completed her year of photographing the perry pear trees above the hall and the full year report is available. I wonder what her project will be for 2022? Click here to find the wildlife page.

Balfour Beatty has completed the necessary works at Offas Dyke Bridge on the C1031 and the road has now re-opened. They have carried out a Bridge Saddling Scheme to strengthen the bridge deck following an inspection in August which indicated that the structure was potentially unsafe. 

Many thanks for your patience whilst these works were carried out.

You will find all the latest November sightings from our wonderful wildlife spotters on the Country Diary page. This month there is also a yummy apple cake. Click here.

Have Your Say...

The Parish has been gifted a piece of land between White Lion Meadow and Curl Brook for a wildlife area. The Council would like the community to be involved in the process from start to finish so would ask you to give us your thoughts and comments on the outlined essentials below and offer your ideas.

The Parish Council is seeking advice from various bodies. Herefordshire Wildlife Trust has advised us on preparing the ground and the essentials for a wildlife haven. These are native trees and plants, a pond and wildlife habitats such as log piles, insect houses, hedgehog boxes etc. with possibly a more formal area and seating near the roadside.

Let us know if you are interested in volunteering on the project for various roles, ranging from physical work, fund raising, planning and facilitating, to providing tea and biscuits!

In the first instance we are hoping to apply for a Herefordshire Council Grant with a very tight timescale for the groundworks (clearing the brook bank of overgrowth, digging a wildlife pond and ploughing the land).  

To submit a quote for the groundworks or to send your ideas or volunteer contact: Project lead Cllr Lomax katelomax4@gmail.com or Clerklyonshallparishclerk@gmail.com

Herefordshire Council has commissioned a new digital mental health service for all adults aged 19 and over to access in the county. 

Qwell, which is delivered by Kooth, the UK’s leading digital mental health and wellbeing organisation, offers free and confidential digital counselling and emotional support.

The service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year via computer, tablet or smartphone.  There are no waiting lists or referrals needed, which will enable people to quickly and easily access support, at a time that is convenient for them.

There are one to one counselling support sessions available, with fully qualified wellbeing practitioners (12pm to 10pm weekdays and 6pm to 10pm weekends and holidays), alongside an extensive range of self-care and psychoeducational materials, peer to peer support via moderated community forums, helpful articles and personal tools, such as an online journal.

To find out more about the new service, take a look at our newsroom article at www.talkcommunitydirectory.org/qwell

Work on repairing Offa's Dyke Bridge, Spond Lane will start on Thursday 4th November and will continue for a number of weeks. The contractors hope to maintain access for pedestrians through the roadworks but, as heavy machinery is involved, there are likely to be occasions when this is not possible.

November 21 Newsletter from Kington Surgery

Click HERE to view

If you spot a problem on the roads or with drainage or a footpath there are a number of ways you can report it to Herefordshire Council

Your one-stop-shop for up to date information is the Herefordshire Council website.

• If you spot a defect on the network, you’ve got two options for reporting it:
• You can raise a report on the council website, via the Travel and Transport page, then subsection Roads.
• Or, you can call our Customer Services Team on 01432 261800. For emergencies, you should always report by telephone.
• When you report issues this way, we can make sure everything is properly logged, assessed, and allocated to the right teams as quickly as possible.
• You can check the progress of a defect, or see if it’s already been logged, via the progress map on council website.

For things to do with Public Rights of Way, including reporting defects, you can check out the dedicated section of the council website. 

• You can also find up to date information about Herefordshire highway works, including road closures and diversions, on one.network.
• Balfour Beatty tweet to @HfdsStreets to let road users know about all things highways. Follow and tell your family and friends too, so you’ll always know when to take extra care.

You can also find on Facebook – check out our Herefordshire Highways page.

The Rural Crime Team is about to begin using the Neighbourhood Matters website to disseminate crime prevention information and broadcast good news stories. P

Please sign up to the bespoke West Mercia Police Neighbourhood Matters website at www.neighbourhoodmatters.co.uk.

This will enable you to receive crime prevention notices as soon as they are posted. In addition, you may wish to have a look at the West Mercia Police Rural Matters Facebook site which already highlights our activities and includes videos, visits and advice delivered by the team across the rural parts Herefordshire.

Be Amazing. Become a Foster Carer in 2022

If you have been thinking about fostering, the New Year is a great time to start your journey. By next Christmas, you could be giving the ultimate gift to a child by transforming their lives.

Fostering ranges from short emergency stays, weekends or holidays, to longer term placements, which means you can find an option which fits in with your work and family commitments.

You will be fully trained and supported, and receive an excellent financial package, plus full allowance to cover all the child’s costs.

Options include:

• Short breaks in your home for children with disabilities
• Supporting a young adult with life skills like cooking, laundry and budgeting
• Therapeutic fostering - working with children with complex behaviours
• Being the forever home that some children need

Call the fostering team on 01432 383240, email us at fostering@herefordshire.gov.uk or visit www.herefordshire.gov.uk/fostering

Balfour Beatty has refreshed the Riparian Responsibilities information to further engage riparian owners to take responsibility for their ditches and drains through awareness, support and guidance.   

Where there is a lack of cooperation and there is a safety risk to highway users, or significant damage to highway, they have now put in a place a process to enable a more formal approach.

Check out these information documents;

Riparian owner good maintenance guide

Ditches and drainage - your responsibilities

Balfour Beatty has also updated the Herefordshire Council website which includes a refresher and updates the information leaflets.

The one-stop-shop for up to date information is the Herefordshire Council website.

• If you spot a defect on the network, you have two options for reporting it:
• You can raise a report on the council website, via the Travel and Transport page, then subsection Roads.
• Or, you can call our Customer Services Team on 01432 261800. For emergencies, you should always report by telephone.
• When you report issues this way,  everything is properly logged, assessed, and allocated to the right teams as quickly as possible.
• You can check the progress of a defect, or see if it’s already been logged, via the progress map on Herefordshire Council website.
• For things to do with Public Rights of Way, including reporting defects, you can check out the dedicated section of the Herefordshire council website.

Did you know?

• You can find up to date information about Herefordshire highway works, including road closures and diversions, on one.network.
• Tweets to @HfdsStreets to let road users know about all things highways. Follow us and tell your family and friends too, so you’ll always know when to take extra care.
• Also on Facebook – check out  Herefordshire Highways page.

As part of the continued development of Talk Community and building on the great work to date, Herefordshire Council are delighted to announce the launch of the Talk Community website - www.talkcommunity.org

The website provides key information about Talk Community including videos, good news stories and launch the summer volunteering campaign – ‘give an hour this summer,’ and provides three areas that support in bringing Herefordshire together:

• How can I help myself?
• How can I help my community?
• How can my community help me?

Herefordshire Council are also changing the name of WISH to become the Talk Community Directory, this will still provide the same great service and functionality but with some minor amendments and name change.  WISH continues to be a highly-valued resource to our communities with its success growing and experiencing a record 59% increase in website visitors in 2020, compared to 2019. The new website address is - www.talkcommunitydirectory.org

Please take the time to visit the website and if you have any feedback email talkcommunitydirectory@herefordshire.gov.uk

Due to the impact of Coronavirus over 5.5 million people are claiming Universal Credit.

Many of them are new to claiming Universal Credit having been negatively impacted by Coronavirus.

For a guide and help to claim please follow this link

Job Centre Plus Link

Keep Herefordshire Warm

As winter’s cold weather starts to bite, we all need to stay warm and healthy in our homes. For many families, higher energy bills and keeping warm is going to be a struggle in the coming months. Keep Herefordshire Warm are pleased to offer a series of short webinars aimed at helping you to support struggling families this winter.

The webinars are free and last 20 minutes with a Q&A session at the end.  You can register for each session by simply clicking through to the Eventbrite link below each topic.

They cover a range of relevant topics; 

• Health in a cold home and COVID19

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/health-in-a-cold-home-and-covid19-tickets-128386536587    

• When should you be concerned about energy welfare?- signs to look out for.

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/when-should-you-be-concerned-about-energy-welfare-tickets-128389110285 

• How can we save money on home energy this winter?

 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-can-we-save-money-and-energy-on-home-energy-this-winter-tickets-128389657923

• What Funding is available for improving your home?

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/what-funding-is-available-for-improving-your-home-tickets-128390598737 

Early Help Hub

Herefordshire Council’s Early Help Hub offers a confidential support service to Herefordshire families with children aged 0 to 19 years. 

The Early Help team can provide families and professionals (working with families) with advice and guidance to support them through the difficult times and help them to get back on track.

Difficulties could include:

• Family relationships

• Challenging behaviours

• Domestic abuse

• Housing issues

• Struggling with finances

• Emotional and mental health

• Safety in the community

• Substance abuse

The Early Help Hub team are available on 01432 260261 (9am – 5pm, Monday to Friday, closed on bank holidays) or email earlyhelpcontacts@herefordshire.gov.uk

To find out more about the Early Help service visit: www.herefordshire.gov.uk/earlyhelp

For information about local support services for families, visit the WISH website www.wisherefordshire.org

Warmer homes Herefordshire Council is working with E.ON to help people across the county improve the heating of their homes by installing free first-time gas central heating systems in around 300 eligible residents’ homes. 

The project follows a successful funding bid by the Council to the £150 million Warm Homes Fund, established by National Grid, and administered by community interest company Affordable Warmth Solutions. 

Eligible households not connected to mains gas and currently relying on inefficient ways of heating their homes, for example electric storage or panel heaters, could be eligible for the measures, which are part of the Warmer Homes Herefordshire scheme. Subject to eligibility, where there is no existing gas supply to the property, a new gas network connection will also be provided by Affordable Warmth Solutions, usually at no cost. Still funded by Affordable Warmth Solutions, eligible properties (must be without existing central heating, unless the existing system uses solid fuel). Under this rural programme they would be able to support the installation of heating systems– e.g. LPG Gas, or Renewable heating (e.g. heat pumps or biomass systems).

For the full eligibility criteria and to apply, they would encourage any residents to call Keep Herefordshire Warm on 0800 677 1432 or email khw@severnwye.org.uk and take a look at: https://keepherefordshirewarm.co.uk/

Leominster Food bank offer support to those who meet the criteria for food parcels.

A short briefing note is attached which explains how someone gets referred and how it works. 

Please read the attached document HERE to see how to find out if you qualify. 

Contact Details: Food bank mobile is 07715410575 and email address is leominsterfoodbank@gmail.com

If you walk the Parish Footpaths for your daily exercise please stick the the public footpaths.

Keep your dog on a lead and pick up it's poop and take it home with you please!!

Please click for the  Definitive Footpath Map  and just enter your postcode.

Stop Loan Sharks Helpline Information

In these difficult times its important to ensure you know who you are lending money from.

The Stop Loan Sharks helpline is available to all and full details can be found by following this LINK

Look out for local news here