Hereford's Bypass

[Denise Lloyd]

Hereford bypass plan finally moving forward

[Denise Lloyd]

The HT article that accompanies the above map -

 

 

 

 

 

HEREFORD'S long-awaited bypass is a step closer after councillors agreed a 15-year transport plan for the city.

The western route should be completed in that time, alongside thousands of new homes which are set to be built across Herefordshire.

Cabinet gave the road, and the authority's wider Local Transport Plan, the thumbs up during a meeting at Hereford Shirehall yesterday, although it still has to be ratified by full council.

The first part of the route, from the A49 south of Hereford, to the A465, will go before the council's Planning Committee on June 6.

Council leader Cllr Tony Johnson said the bypass would open up vital land along the route for development.

"The Local Transport Plan is one of the council’s most important strategic documents," he said.

"It sets out the county's infrastructure and transport needs in order to grow the economy - and Herefordshire must grow its economy. We have ambitious plans for infrastructure and housing growth, which in turn will strengthen the county’s position for years to come.

"The LTP includes the delivery of a Hereford bypass, which I know will be welcomed by many. However, we know that we will also need to improve other modes of travel to help become a healthier and more prosperous county.

"We are now moving to (the) delivery phase of the bypass which will include confirming the detailed route, securing planning permission, funding and acquisition of land prior to construction."

The Cabinet meeting heard Herefordshire's roads are currently in dire need of a revamp after being compared with those of a third-world country.

"Some of our roads are getting impassable," said Cllr Sebastian Bowen.

"Some are like back roads in Nigeria.

"We need to put some money into our roads.

"We only seem to be getting crumbs from the government. What we need are loaves."

Cabinet member Cllr Philip Price agreed, saying the cost of rectifying all the county's roads would be about £100million.

"If we were to put that aside you can guarantee the back benches would oppose it," he said.

"We are looking at it though and are trying to get money from the government."

The LTP includes a High Town improvement scheme, although members were warned against introducing a quick fix.

"The work there in the past has been a waste really," said Cllr Terry James.

"Given all the money that was spent there, it was very short term. We should be looking at work that will still be there in 100 years."

[Steve Major]

Rather than we all carry on arguing about which is the best route, lets just get on with it now and get it built or it will never happen! 

[Maggie May]

Rather than we all carry on arguing about which is the best route, lets just get on with it now and get it built or it will never happen! 

 

Personally as a carer why should all this money (£100s of millions?) be spent on a road which apparently wont tackle congestion? Could we all perhaps just ask what are the real priorities in our communities and what is best for future generations? I would prefer a few more beds in Hereford Hospital - If you have ever spent any time there you will know that despite the wonderful health staff working in Herefordshire there is just no capacity, certainly not for all the extra people the Council say are looking to live in Herefordshire. All the people I know who have moved to Herefordshire in the last 2 years are all retired people from the South East. In the next 10-15 years these people will be requiring more and more health services as they get older. By 2031 they will completely overload the adult social care budget of Herefordshire Council, and what will they have instead - a road around Hereford, when they are all trying to get to the Hereford Hospital in the City centre. 

The other week we couldnt get to see the GP for over 2 weeks and even the GP suggested we go to the walk in centre in Asda due to recent high demand for health services and a lack of GPs in the County. There were some very poorly people at Asda and at the time there was limited access to A&E (which is often inappropriate) due to the demand. Surely we ought to be looking at our health services and investing in these.

There are so many other things that could be done with this money to improve our local communities and make them happier and healthier - how about our libraries? Hereford library was a great place but it has been shut for months. The Council claims it hasn't got any money to sort it out and make it fit for the 21st Century, even with plans for a university coming to Hereford.  So why has it got so much money for this massive road project but not for anything else?

[Harry Beynon]

I might be missing something but surely the Bypass is the key to releasing development land and creating a more viable city? More buildings produce more rates which, in turn, feed the council's coffers. Then, we might have the money to meet the County's social care needs; restore the Library; and, maybe, get rid of that bomb-site in High Town!

[Maggie May]

Denise, Why is this "bypass" stopping on the A49 and not going around to the Worcester Road. Surely the single track railway bridge with traffic lights should be widened to get rid of these traffic lights and keep traffic heading to and from Worcester/Malvern flowing freely?  I rarely go that way but the other day the traffic was held up due to the width of 2 large lorries trying to pass each other just before Booker as the road was is so narrow. 

[ragwert]

Denise, Why is this "bypass" stopping on the A49 and not going around to the Worcester Road. Surely the single track railway bridge with traffic lights should be widened to get rid of these traffic lights and keep traffic heading to and from Worcester/Malvern flowing freely?  I rarely go that way but the other day the traffic was held up due to the width of 2 large lorries trying to pass each other just before Booker as the road was is so narrow. 

I'm sure the developers who have just built the houses off the Roman Rd were to put the money aside for the bridge to be widened along with

money for Hereford skate park

[Maggie May]

I'm sure the developers who have just built the houses off the Roman Rd were to put the money aside for the bridge to be widened along with

money for Hereford skate park

 

My friend who lives in that part of Hereford says that all the money from the developers was spent on widening the footpaths along a stretch of the Roman Road to make them combined, footpaths and cycleways - until they run out by the Cotswold mini garage. I think there were also supposed to be footpath improvements for children in the new houses to be able to walk to the local St Francis Primary school, as without them, even though the walk would be short it would be life threatening for an adult, let alone a child of any young age. I don't think the Roman Road housing developers  had to fund upgrades to the A road heading towards Worcester as surely such a main road is entirely the responsibility of Herefordshire Council.  If any one knows any different it would be useful to know. 

[Cloudberry]

I don't see how the Enterprise Zone trading estate at Rotherwas can flourish without being connected to the motorways (M5 at Worcester, M50 at Ledbury). So why is a road to the west still a priority, and no mention of anything on the east? The Enterprise Zone was supposed to be bringing us 6000 + new jobs, but I think I read it is only 254 so far. Not hard to see why, in that rather isolated spot, (see map at top of this topic).  If there are few new jobs, then Hereford won't need so many new homes. And if Hereford doesn't need many new homes, then the money from developers won't be enough to pay for any road. We need more affordable homes, not estates of expensive profit-making homes that no-one can afford to live in. Why is the Council set on roads in the wrong places, not making life easier for cyclists and pedestrians, and not promoting the Enterprise Zone that could bring lots more jobs?

[herefordman75]

Unfortunately in this day and age we are geared up to use the car, and that is something that isn't going to go away soon. So in the immediate (say, up to 30-40 year time frame) we will need a bypass - but wait a minute......

 

We also need to encourage people to leave their cars at the edge of the city, so park and ride at strategic points, N,S,W & W on main in routes is sensible. Create safe and useable cycle lanes, and encourage people with say a cycle miles scheme - the more distance they ride for, the more points - and to quote a famous person "what do points make???" - so reward with something that can only be spent locally?

Make it easy for people to use bikes, have a cycle hire hub at each park and ride, and a drop off point in town, there are plenty of places that use similar schemes very successfully. This way, people are encouraged to leave their cars behind, use buses or bikes to get into town, and the through traffic (of which in most studies appears to be hardly any?) can bypass the town, reducing pollution and traffic within the city limits.

[ragwert]

Unfortunately in this day and age we are geared up to use the car, and that is something that isn't going to go away soon. So in the immediate (say, up to 30-40 year time frame) we will need a bypass - but wait a minute......

 

We also need to encourage people to leave their cars at the edge of the city, so park and ride at strategic points, N,S,W & W on main in routes is sensible. Create safe and useable cycle lanes, and encourage people with say a cycle miles scheme - the more distance they ride for, the more points - and to quote a famous person "what do points make???" - so reward with something that can only be spent locally?

Make it easy for people to use bikes, have a cycle hire hub at each park and ride, and a drop off point in town, there are plenty of places that use similar schemes very successfully. This way, people are encouraged to leave their cars behind, use buses or bikes to get into town, and the through traffic (of which in most studies appears to be hardly any?) can bypass the town, reducing pollution and traffic within the city limits.

Park n ride will never work,never has in the past.Other parts of the UK have also removed or reduced their park n ride due to near non existant use(Worcester for one).

To get someone to park up,wait for a bus and then pay for a bus ticket has always seemed strange to me.

[ragwert]

Mmmm,need to find how to cancel a post

[herefordman75]

There are a lot of well used park and ride systems around the country, Bath is a very good one. Free parking at the bus depot out of town, and a £3 charge (return) for the bus itself.