Hereford News
The latest Hereford news: planning decisions, council and crime updates, business and community stories, each linked back to its official source.
Top story
Monkhall Farm: Ross Farmer, 25, Gets 25-Year Duchy Lease
Harry Davies, 25, of Hopes Ash Farm, Ross, takes the Duchy of Cornwall's 900-acre Monkhall Farm at Callow on its first regenerative tenancy, for 25 years.
More stories
Planning
Herefordshire Housing Land Supply Falls to 2.81 Years
Herefordshire can show only 2.81 years of housing land against a five-year rule, down from 3.11. What it changes for planning, and the sites that dropped out.
Roadworks
Commercial Road, Hereford: Temporary Lights Until 4 December
Three-way temporary lights at Commercial Road and Blueschool Street from 12 October, and Union Street shut 7am to 5pm on 20 and 21 October.
Credenhill
Credenhill 250 Homes: MoD Raises Concerns, Drainage Objects
Council drainage and landscape officers object to 250 homes beside Stirling Lines; the MoD lists concerns but no formal objection. Decision due 22 October.
House prices
Herefordshire House Prices: £289,607, Growth Slows to 1.8%
The county average rose 1.8% in the year to July 2026, down from 4.5% in June. Most of the slowdown is last July's jump dropping out, not falling prices.
Schools
Aylestone School Expansion: £12.1m Deal, Places Slip 2028
The council has signed a £12.07m build contract for 300 extra places. Cabinet agreed in 2023 that the extra pupils would start in September 2026, not 2028.
Road safety
A4137 Marstow Crash: Police Want Sunday Dashcam Footage
A motorcyclist was seriously hurt at 5.40pm on Sunday. West Mercia wants dashcam footage, and our own DfT figures show the A4137 five-year record.
Hereford bypass
Hereford Bypass Costs Rise: Re-tender Now an Option
Cabinet's 24 September report says design changes have pushed costs up and much of £3.5m in planned savings is unachievable. Re-tendering is now a formal option.
Herefordshire Council
Herefordshire Council Budget: £11.6m Overspend Forecast
Herefordshire is forecasting an £11.6m overspend on its £234.1m budget three months in, and the reserve built to absorb exactly this is down to £1m.
Mental health
Hereford Pubs Get 20,000 Suicide Prevention Beer Mats
Herefordshire Mind has put 20,000 beer mats into over 40 Hereford pubs, bars and clubs, with a flowchart showing staff how to help someone in crisis.
Herefordshire Council
Lugwardine A438 Overtaking Ban: £439k Works Already Awarded
Lugwardine's £398,792 traffic calming contract, overtaking limits included, was signed off in July. Objections to the A438 overtaking ban close 18 September.
Schools
Peterchurch Primary School Opens £10m New Building
Pupils moved in on 7 September, and capacity rises from 105 to 140. The decision that funded it also promised an 8-place SEN Nurture Hub from this month.
Roads
Hereford Transport Hub Bus-Only Plan: Object by 2 Oct
A draft order advertised on 10 September would ban cars from the new Transport Hub access road off the A465. Objections close at noon on Friday 2 October.
Hereford bypass
Hereford Bypass: Contract Vote Off, Paths Shut 14 Sept
Cabinet is no longer being asked to award the bypass contract. The decision is now an update, moved to 24 September, and four footpaths shut on 14 September.
Schools
Herefordshire Secondary School Places: Apply by 31 October
Applications for September 2027 opened on 7 September and close at midnight on 31 October. Five county schools took more first choices than they had places.
Herefordshire Council
Hereford Yellow Lines on Six More Streets: Object by 18 Sep
New no-loading lines are proposed for Friars Street, Cross Street and four more Hereford streets, plus a zebra crossing on Barton Yard. Object by 18 September.
Buses
Herefordshire bus changes: 19 services, two new operators
Nineteen Herefordshire bus services changed on 30 August and 1 September. D Belfitt takes over seven Nick Maddy routes, Newport Transport three from Yeomans.
SEND
Herefordshire 80-place special free school will not open
The DfE has dropped Herefordshire's approved 80-place special free school and given the council £3.8m instead. The council's own report puts a new one at circa £25m.
Hereford bypass
Hereford bypass: £44.7m cost, Cabinet decides 10 September
The business case puts Phase One at £44.7m against a £45.3m budget and its benefit-cost ratio at 1.5. Cabinet votes on 10 September on releasing the money.
House prices
Herefordshire house prices: £289,715, up £13,290 in a year
The county average rose 4.8% in the year to June 2026, 77th of 295 English areas. Terraces and semis rose 5.7%, flats just 2%, and sales are below 2024.
Recycling
Herefordshire Tips Stop Taking Fridges, So Has Collection
All six Herefordshire recycling centres stopped taking fridges on 19 August. The council's £35.15 bulky collection quietly stopped too, with no end date.
Business
Herefordshire Cuts Pavement Licence to £150 Until 2028
A pavement licence in Herefordshire now costs £150, not £500, and £105 to renew. The old fee was the legal maximum. The cut runs to 31 March 2028.
Environment
River Wye at Hereford Drops Below Its 1976 Drought Low
The Wye at Belmont averaged 3.30 cubic metres a second over the first half of August, below the 3.34 of August 1976, the lowest August in a 90-year record.
Education
Hereford GCSE Results 2026: 20 August and What Next
GCSE results reach Herefordshire pupils on Thursday 20 August. Free drop-in advice from 1pm, what a grade 4 changes, and the 24 September appeal deadline.
Education
Hereford A Level Results 2026: 98.7% Pass and What Next
Herefordshire's A level pass rate was 98.7%, the council says, and Hereford Sixth Form recorded 57.2% of grades at A* to B. GCSE results follow on 20 August.
Housing
Hereford Emergency Housing: 28 Flats at John Venn Building
Hereford's John Venn Building becomes 28 emergency flats by summer 2027, a £3.8m job. Herefordshire had 196 households in temporary accommodation in March.
Business
Flip Out Hereford operator goes into liquidation
The company behind the Mortimer Road inflatable park entered creditors' voluntary liquidation on 27 July, and the venue has gone from Flip Out's website.
Transport
Hereford Beryl bikes: 50 new e-bikes take the fleet to 200
Fifty new e-bikes join Hereford's Beryl scheme this summer, taking the fleet to 200 bikes across more than 70 bays, with 683,000 rides logged since 2019.