Text at top (next game etc)

Next Game: Banbury Away On Friday March 29th Kick-Off 3.00pm

Monday, April 30, 2007

Party Leaders talk about Hereford United

Bulls News recently asked the leaders of the four main parties contesting the elections in Herefordshire to put forward their views on the importance of Hereford United and why supporters of the club should vote for their candidates.

Three of the party leaders replied. Unfortunately despite a reminder nothing has been received from the Liberal Party so we are unable to publish their views.

The elections take place next Thursday.

The replies are printed in full without any editing.


CONSERVATIVE GROUP

Over the past 4 years as the Conservative Leader of the Council I have meet with
Graham Turner and representatives of Richardson Bros on several occasions to
ensure the needs of the Club are understood and addressed. This included the
agreement to extend the leases to ensure that the Club gained promotion to the
League and retain the Ground in it's present site.
As a Political Group we recognise that the Club has brought a great deal of
publicity to the County and that the Ground itself is one of the focal buildings
of the 100 acre developement.The level of support for the Bulls in the County
can be rightly compared to the volume of support given to many other Sporting
and Artistic organisations which receive public funds.
There needs to be a programme of rebuild of much of the Stadium to offer not
just a home for the Club but also improved leisure facilities and opportunities
for Business and the Community. Conservatives also believe that transport links
and car park provision must also be included in the planning and delivery of the
project.
There needs to be good communication between the Edgar Street Company, the
Council, the Club and Community to ensure that everyone understands the
timetable and issues that need to be addressed.
Supporters can be confident that Conservatives will continue to guard and
promote the best interest of our football club.

Roger Phillips
Group Leader


LABOUR PARTY

Herefordshire Labour Party has a long history of supporting Hereford United and would wish to continue to do so. We see several opportuities for the club with the redevelopment of the Edgar Street grid. With plans to realign the ground to allow for road widening there is an opportunity to up grade the stands and staff facilities making Edgar Street the most upto date ground in the league. Labour councillors want Bulls supporters to be fully involved in the consultations fo this exciting development. Projects of this size always take a long time to develop but i would hope that with suitable private investment, that the new ground could be developed within ten years.

I have been involved with the economic development of the city for a number of years and if re-elected will continue to make the promotion of Hereford United one of my main priorties.

Hereford United supporters should vote for Labour candidates because we are the only Party that has always given our full commitment to the 'Bulls' outside of election time. We are also the only Party that is not affraid to take on any problems that the supporters bring to us.

I am looking forward to a succesful season for 'United' next year when I hope to be Maroy of Hereford and to entertain United fans in the Mayor's Parlour.

Chris Chappell.



GREENS: HEREFORD UNITED

Herefordshire Greens are standing in the local elections to promote Herefordshire's local talent and character whether that is found in sport, business, food, farming or arts. Climate change is the big issue and "going local" is the way to tackle it. By doing more things locally we can reduce congestion, energy use and waste. By promoting Hereford more effectively we can create more local wealth - and this includes sport as much as business and food.

We want to promote a better quality of life, one which recognises the value of exercise. We welcome the real efforts Hereford United already make towards promoting sport in schools and commend the club for the vision and enthusiasm shown in this.

Green councillors would work hard to:
* Further support and promote the work already done by the Club in local schools
* Seek to promote the club as an integral part of a more coherent plan for improving the whole of Hereford
* Involve the club fully in plans to develop the Edgar Street Grid

We are completely opposed to another supermarket on the grid. This is because we think Hereford has enough supermarkets now and another one would result in lots more traffic and the closure of even more local shops and businesses.

Instead we want to see a Grid that is for everyone, and one that complements our existing city centre rather than competing with it.

Some of our ideas for the Grid include:
* Low cost housing for local people
* A multiplex cinema
* A local food centre including both an warm, indoor, permanent farmer's market and a regional visitor centre for "sustainable farming" as a tourist attraction and to teach our kids about food and farming
* Facilities for young people and families - how about a roller blading/ ice skating/ skateboarding centre?
* A local energy centre - composting food waste from the city to make green electricity

There have been rumours about the Football ground moving out of town. On the plus side the money raised through selling the plot might allow for a new and modern football ground somewhere else. However it would be sad in some ways to lose the facility in the centre of town as part of the revitalised grid and a site out of town might be harder to get to without a car.

What we can say is that we want to: -
* promote sport, excercise, and Hereford United
* develop more things to do for young people in Hereford
* reduce traffic (we would work towards making it more attractive and safer to walk, cycle or catch the bus to matches)
* improve facilities for sports fans

We are open to debate and discussion on this issue. We would welcome people's views about whether or not the football club should move into new premises, or work to improve the current ones. You can comment via our website - www.herefordshiregreens.org.uk - or simply email info@herefordshiregreens.org.uk

Football fans are also residents, drivers, parents, employees. small business owners, retired people and young people. Most people seem really fed up with the Council - especially with traffic and a run down city centre - and are unenthusiastic about the opposition Lib Dems. Greens are fielding a record 30 candidates this year - 3 times more than Labour - because we believe the time has come to Refresh the Council with some new faces. We hope Hereford supporters will get out and vote on the 3rd May, and vote Green.

Rob Hattersley