The purpose of the report is to approve the 2026-2036 Herefordshire Adult Social Care Prevention Strategy

To award a contract to M F Freeman Ltd. using Lot 1 of the Council’s NEC 4 Minor Works Framework Agreement, to the initial value of £49,540.33 to deliver the following;-

•Construction of new section of 3m wide footway adjacent to Hereford Rowing Club to Herefordshire Councils specification
•Break out of part of existing tarmac car park and reduce to original field levels.
•Removal of existing hedge and fencing.
•Installation of new fencing and gates (already purchased by Rowing Club)
•Installation of new street lighting ducting (lighting work to be carried out independently by Balfour Beatty)
•Overlay of existing riverside footway between the new diverted footway and the entrance to the Rugby Club.
•Trimming of tree growth from Rugby Club boundary to allow for use of tarmac laying machinery to be used.

A plan of the works is included at Appendix 1 for information.

To deliver the works to support the diversion and improvement of the public footpath HER 20, following the legal diversion of the route on 27th Feb 2024.

To approve the reprocurement of Herefordshire Independant Adult Advocacy Services, bhy way of an open tender process.

To report to Cabinet the quarterly outturn of key KPIs and progress against the Delivery Plan 2025/26.

To confirm the annual plan of public realm works that will be delivered in line with capital and revenue budgets and in accordance with the Council’s Highway Asset Management Plan and Highway Maintenance Plan.

To appoint JNA Property Ltd on a Low value contract to undertake outstanding rent reviews and other lease negotiations in respect of the Commercial and Investment property portfolio.
Rent reviews and lease renewals are either currently outstanding or will become due prior to the award of a new longer-term contract for Estate Professional Services to be procured later in 2026. It had been hoped the most recent provider of these services to the Council would be able to agree an extension of their original contract to deal with the identified cases whilst the longer-term procurement process was running, but due to changes to their own business model, this has not been possible.
Delaying the implementation of these for inclusion within the longer-term contract will delay the receipt of enhanced income to the council and result in some tenants falling into rent arrears.
The quote provided by JNA has been benchmarked favourably against prices quoted by other providers within relevant frameworks and for a similar portfolio of work procured in 2025 following competitive tendering.
JNA Property have held previous contracts to provide these services to the council and so have recent detailed knowledge of several of the properties, the locations and relevant markets.
The appointment of JNA Property is therefore more likely to achieve a speedier resolution than another provider so minimizing the delay in the council receiving enhanced rents and additional backdated rent debt being accrued by tenants

Award a contract to Welfare Call for the provision of a cloud-based solution for electronic Personal Education Plans (ePEP), an Analytics Tool and attendance tracking for up to 350 children who are Looked After (CLA) every year. The contract value is £83,506.80 for a two-year contract period from 01 January 2026 to 31 December 2027, with the option to extend for up to 12 months from 01 January 2028 at an additional £41,753.40 for the year (total potential value of up to £125,260.20 for three years).

This is a five year statutory strategy to replace the 2020-2025 strategy. It sets out our approach to the prevention of homelessness and rough sleeping in the county.

This report is to record the spend of the Local Transport Grant allocation in 2025/26

To provide Cabinet with an update regarding the Phosphate Mitigation Wetland schemes

To award a contract to Beam Up Ltd for a cloud-based solution and associated service for an AI-powered recording, transcription and custom template generation solution, specifically tailored for statutory social care workflows.
The contract is for a period of one-year at a cost of £75,000.

Award a contract for the construction of Ross Enterprise Park Phase 1 plots and infrastructure to Fitzgerald Contractors Ltd. following successful
evaluation from an open tender process for a tendered value of
£2,602,939.81.

Ross Enterprise Park is one of the largest strategic employment sites in
Herefordshire. It is a well-situated site with excellent road transport links including easy access to the M50 (Midlands/South West), A449 (M4
corridor/Wales/South West) and the A49 (Marches/West Midlands/North
West).

The proposed project will deliver as the initial phase of development, 4
development plots of circa 1 acre each, dependent on the end mix of uses between office and light industrial space, between 77,000 and 100,000 sq. ft. of floor-space and between 150 and 600 jobs whilst supporting the growth of the local and wider economy. The site will be constructed to ground level, including services, road and drainage infrastructure, and marketed as serviced plots for subsequent development by others. Phase 1 will also include all public highway and active travel improvements necessary to satisfy planning obligations.

The entire site is in council ownership and available for the contractors to start on site.

The site has the benefit of a planning permission approved by the Planning and Regulatory Committee on 21 February 2018, and that permission will expire in late February 2026, meaning that physical work on site must commence before that date. The project delivery strategy has been geared to ensure that works begin before planning permission expires. This decision will allow the contractor to start on site in mid-November.

The Herefordshire Economic Plan identifies a critical need for employment land in strategic locations to support the growth of higher value jobs in the county. There remains a strong demand for employment land in Ross on Wye, with several local employers stating they will have to consider relocating out of the county if their growth needs can’t be accommodated locally. The need/demand for the development of the site was strongly supported in the Ross on Wye Market Town Investment Plan, which identifies the need for additional employment land as the highest local priority, thereby addressing the 10 year market failure to establish new land.

Consultants appointed in July 2024 have developed detailed
designs/proposals (RIBA stages 2-4) including highways works to open up the Park by creating a new junction off the A40 whilst internally earthworks, drainage and utilities provision will create 4 acres of development ready land. This will allow the scheme to be developed in phases that meet the market demand.

The procurement was conducted in line with the above threshold process as set out in the council’s Contracts Procedure Rules.

Following robust evaluation, Fitzgerald Contractors Ltd. are recommended as the preferred contractor for award.

The preferred contractor will be responsible for implementing the designs as per the tender scope and specification to RIBA stages 5 and 6 in conjunction with the Council’s appointed design consultants.

The Director of Growth will approve any future spend of contingency on
compensation events in accordance with the contract to a total maximum of £1,000,000 in accordance with authority delegated to the director in the 22 July 2025 decision.

To approve Herefordshire Council’s proposed admissions arrangements for the academic year 2027/2028

The proposed arrangements comply with the current School Admissions Code which came into force on 1 September 2021. The recommendation applies to admission arrangements determined in 2025 for admission in school year 2027/2028 for those schools in Herefordshire for whom the council is the admissions authority.

For the Deed of Dedication for land adjacent to Great Western Way between the Aldi entrance and Portland Street, Hereford with Heineken UK Ltd to be signed and sealed by an authorised officer on behalf of Herefordshire Council.

To secure land on which to make cycleway improvements for the benefit of the community as part of LUF funded cycle improvements.

To select a preferred candidate to be appointed to the post of Chief Executive and recommend that candidate to full council.

To seek approval for Herefordshire Council to accept the ring-fenced grant from the Department for Education (DfE) and to use this funding to co-ordinate the delivery of free holiday clubs for children and young people in receipt of benefits-related free school meals, as well as those who meet the eligibility criteria for a discretionary place.

To seek cabinet approval for Herefordshire Council to take receipt of the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) grant as a programme funded by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) between 2026-2029. The CRF replaces the Household Support Fund (HSF) and the Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) and will enable Herefordshire to work collaboratively with partners and communities at county and local levels to build long-term resilience, cohesion, and reduce the need for crisis support.

The purpose of this report is to present cabinet with the outcome of the Inspection of Local Authority Children Services (ILACS) that took place 10-21 November 2025 and was published 12th January 2026.

To seek approval to sign an agreement for lease and lease for Unit 6 Maylord Orchards to a national retailer.

To approve a extension to the Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) for Home to School and Public Transport.

To note and review the earmarked reserves held by the council.

To update the Highway Maintenance Plan, which sets out the reasonable system of inspection and repair that will
be deployed by the Council to ensure that it meets its duty to maintain all publicly maintainable highways.

To approve school forum’s recommended budget
proposals for school budgets, central school
services and early years within the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) for 2026/27

To approve the proposed expenditure of capital grants for the school buildings maintenance works.

To make the revised Dormington & Mordiford neighbourhood development plan (NDP) as part of the statutory development plan for Herefordshire and approve the consequential updates to the countywide policies
maps.
To fulfil the legal duty to make /adopt the revised Dormington & Mordiford neighbourhood development plan and update the countywide policies map as part of the statutory development plan for Herefordshire.

To approve the proposed approach to re-commissioning the home care service framework in Herefordshire.

The current home care framework ends on 31 October 2026. This report details the intended approach to re-commission a new service from 1 November 2026, for up to ten years. This is in line with the council’s statutory duty to provide home care services for those with an eligible assessed need, as set out in the Care Act 2014.

To formally adopt the Herefordshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy and accept associated government grant for delivery.

To Allocate the balance of the Climate and Nature Reserve for the delivery of projects which will positively impact the climate and natural environment of Herefordshire to the benefit of all who reside in the county.

This report seeks approval to procure and undertake any necessary works to depot and other facilities as required to deliver the New Public Realm Service from 1 June 2026.

To seek Cabinet approval for the adoption of the Local Walking and Cycling Plan

To approve the scoping and construction of solar car ports at Plough Lane