South Wye Transport Package - Update

[Glenda Powell]

                                  Public Exhibition For South Wye Transport Package.

                                  Tuesday 1st to Thursday 3rd July at the Three Counties Hotel.

                                                         12 noon to 8pm every day.

 

                                 'Everyone will be given an opportunity to voice "their" opinion on outcomes

                                                               and initial stages of the project.

 

                                                                       "HAVE YOUR SAY"

 

                                                Meet: Glenda Vaughan-Powell: Independent Cllr

                                            ... always willing to listen to 'Your' views & opinions....

 

                                                . Tuesday 1st July  - 12.30pm and 5pm

                                                . Wednesday 2nd July - 2pm and 4pm

                                                . Thursday 3rd July - 3pm and 6pm.

                 

                                           ... or telephone Cllr Vaughan-Powell on 01432 360456.

 

 

[Bill Thomas]

Thank you for the info, I will do my best to pop in and see what is being discussed.

[Denise Lloyd]

There's a link to view it on line but typically I can't quite seem to be able to find it at the moment.  If anybody can lay their hands on it please post it on here. 

[Glenda Powell]

If you attend the exhibition you will receive a brosure of the proposals and a questionairre to fill in and send back in a prepaid envelope. It is worth taking a look. This is your chance to have your say. Colin came and asked questions.

[dippyhippy]

I bet he did!

 

I'm also willing to wager that traffic lights were mentioned once or twice!

 

Well done Colin!!

 

As Denise has already asked, is their a link available to have a look at the brochure and questionnaire?

[Denise Lloyd]

Yes there is it is on Hereford Voice somewhere but just can't put my hands on it

[Denise Lloyd]

Here it is https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/planning-policy/local-transport-plan-2013-2015/south-wye-transportation-package I think! 

[dippyhippy]

Well done Denise!

 

I looked for it earlier after you said you had searched in vain, but couldn't locate it!

 

Glad to see your efforts paid off!

 

Now......just have to peruse it, at my leisure!

[Colin James]

Well, I was quite disappointed in all honesty. The place was virtually empty other than a few representatives from Herefordshire Council, Balfour Beatty and Parsons Brinckerhoff.

The ONLY councillor there initially was CVP, then Cllr Phillip Price arrived but other than that no other Councillors to be seen...

We were handed a leaflet and they said have a look on the website, the address is on the back, well the address on their glossy brochure is wrong. The website can be found here

A little misleading too, I took this photo of tree boulevard (hilarious, who came up with this daft idea?)

 

We also challenged this wording:

 

We explained that there was NO EVIDENCE to support these claims, but they have been quite cute in their use of words,which to be fair they did acknowledge we explained that in fact studies at Poynton have shown that accidents have actually decreased as a result of removing the lights, nevertheless, these panels and the wording portrays increased danger in my opinion, which again is misleading to the public and not factual. I would be good if Martin Cassini could visit and give his opinion.

(I don't think they were expecting me to take photographs)

I do like the idea of a cycle lane but the road seems to be too narrow, they could reduce the widths of the footpaths slightly rather than the road in my opinion. We don't need the tree's in the centre reservation, I think that is a ploy to win over a few people because of the issues caused with cutting down the tree's in Edgar St, besides, they would end up being overgrown in a few years and then we would have a canopy with reduced light, NO THANKS!

I already think the tree's on the left bank are 'an accident just waiting to happen' next time you drive under the bridge heading into the city, have a look at the couple of large tree's on your left, the roots have already pushed brickwork out of the supporting wall, one bad storm and that lot will come down I think, I have pointed this out on a number of occasions.

Here is the PDF showing tree boulevard

Reduced Size - Panel6-PackageAssembly-Board6a.pdf

Full size available here

[Colin James]

Here you go, a better photograph 

 

 

I like the idea of a cycle lane, but cycles and buses using the same lane is this normal? Seeing as they are banging on about safety, surely this could be dangerous?

 

[Bill Thomas]

I walked over in the afternoon for 20 minutes, place was empty no councillors at all when I was there. I think CVP had only just left in fairness to her but you would of thought there would of been other local councillors available.

 

Nobody approached me, there were a few people talking among themselves, so I was left to just wonder around. I DO NOT like the tree idea either!! What's that all about? Are the people who come up with these idea's local? I suspect not

[Glenda Powell]

Bill, I went home for a couple of hours at 3.30pm having arrived at 12.15pm then went back at 5pm for couple of hours. yes Colin and John came in at lunchtime and I knew they would be asking some awkward questions, and yes the question of the traffic lights came up, they were not expecting Colin to take photo's. They said they start the build in 2016 and it would take two years, my question was what are they going to do in the meantime about the congestion now! they couldn't answer that. I was pleased to see Colin put Cllr Price through his paces, funnily enough he followed Colin out and didn't comeback!!!

 

Later a lady asked some awkward questions and they could not give her an answer so I told her I make some enquiries I gave her my business card to write to me. In total up until I went home at 7pm 42 people had come to see the exhibition. It will be interesting to see how many come today when I go back. Most of the people who came yesterday asked where the other ward councillors were, they were not impressed that I was the only one who was there!

[Denise Lloyd]

Considering this covers a huge area the consultation has not been terribly well advertised.  The area it affects is vast  It really annoys me with all their technology that you have to print the questionnaire off and are not able respond online.

[Aylestone Voice]

Although I visited and completed a response you can using the online comment form - its on the link above

[Denise Lloyd]

Oh I must be mistaken I thought you had to print it off first and then complete it I will have another look later.

 

Lovely glossy very polished presentation I wonder what this would have cost.  I do not see any costings for any of these options.  I understand that 10k to 16k houses will have to be built along the route of this proposed road to cover the cost. I am not saying there is not a need for houses but the right number and the right areas.  Move forward a few years more houses more traffic. Prior to completing the questionnaire think carefully about what you want for the area.  I think I am correct in saying Here for Hereford and the D of T have questioned the validity of putting a link road from the A465 to the A49.  From what I have witnessed the majority of HGV's travelling on the A465 do not turn at the roundabout for Rotherwas but travel over the bridge so I wonder how much the link road would alleviate the problem.  

[Glenda Powell]

Denise, The South Wye Transport Package exibitions is on the council website, newsdesk page and Twitter, A press release was also sent to the HT but they did not print it.

[Pete.g]

Hi

 

The A465 link road is the much heralded answer to all our local transport needs because it links the Rotherwas access road towards the precious belt of land in the east where the current local administration has its eyes set on and it's greedy little heart desiring a load of houses to pay for some of it.

 

None of the business leaders I know of on Rotherwas think it will help them or indeed give the enterprise zone a boost, what would do this however is a western crossing linking with the Ledbury road initially and thus opening a new easier option to the midlands and the central / Thames areas where most businesses are doing business !

 

The whole western crossing idea is well presented by Jesse Norman in his excellent paper that I cannot find a link to at the moment ! But universally pooh poohed by anyone who has a bigotted local Tory inspired sense of tow the party line - spew out the dogma mentality.

 

I guess when the core strategy gets called in for its lack of soundness and challenged through the courts, then local views will be heard and who knows by then we may have a change of local administration and common sense and value for money will prevail.

 

Here's hoping

 

Pete

[megilleland]

Hello Pete.g welcome to the Voice. Have you got your east and west mixed up. JN supports an eastern route being shorter and cheaper and linking into the Enterprise Zone. The Council want the bypass/relief road to go around the west of the city where they want to build thousands of more houses. They can't do that if it goes east as it crosses the wet grasslands of Lugg Meadows which flood every year. The council is desperate for more council tax they just can't wait to waste more of our hard earned money.

 

Have a look at post 15 where JN has written a response concerning a relief road.

[M. Preece]

The western route seems the most viable option, there are too many barriers going the eastern route, you have to cross the river several times and you would need to raise the roads over the lugg meadows, it just ain't going happen that way! I visited the three counties today and had a chat with people, its a bit of a catch 22 because in order to get planning you need to have funding and there is not much coming from central gov, however, there is some un allocated money available for 2022, but a plan is required before they can apply, so the only way the can get some of the money is from new homes...

[Pete.g]

Hi

 

Thanks Megilleland for pointing out my obvious mistake of mixing up east & west !

 

Yes Jesse Norman has written an excellent paper on the Eastern crossing , and contrary to the scaremongerers from Hfd Council this does not include crossing the lugg flats. It would cross the wye only once and would alleviate far more traffic congestion in Hereford than the preferred Western crossing.

 

The Eastern crossing is also considered by many of the Enterprise Zone Board as completely desirable in order to maximise the growth of the Zone.

 

The scandal is that the Eastern crossing is not even correctly considered in the Core strategy document - which is just one reason where the soundness of the policy could be called into doubt.

 

Regards

 

Pete

[Glenda Powell]

Today is the last day of the exibition at the Three Counties Hotel where it will close at 8pm. As from tomorrow you can visit Belmont Library, city library where a scaled down display will be until
8th August 2014. You can also pick up the brochures and questionnaires at both library's Kindle Centre, Advice centre Newton Farm and Rotherwas E.Zone. I will be visiting the Three Counties Hotel for the last time from 3pm today, to date 45 people a day have attended the exhibition not only from the South Wye area also from north of the city, Clehonger, Kingstone, Haywood and Callow.There has been varied comments on the suggestions which are not set in stone, it is up to the people to influence the outcome by attending today and ask questions of the team of people there and they are there to LISTEN to your own proposals as to what you would like, also for you to fill out the questionaire. You have until the 8th August to fill the questionaires and send them back in the
pre-paid envelope provided. I cannot stress enough the importance of the people's comments and recommendations. Glenda

[M. Preece]

The web address on the back of the brochure is wrong

[Denise Lloyd]

Go to mine in a previous post that one is correct

[Glenda Powell]

M.Preece, I will advise them about the website address this afternoon.

[dippyhippy]

Hi Pete.G!

 

If my memory serves me correctly, I believe when this idea was first being discussed, the costs involved of going with this route(East that is!!) were actually substantially LESS that the link road to nowhere. Several letters were published regarding this over at HT, which prompted quite a lengthy debate!

 

Surely this route, and possibly a rail link at Rotherwas, would be a more sensible option to look at??

 

I'm not a huge Jesse Norman fan, but this plan does at least seem to be joined up....so credit where it's due!!

[twowheelsgood]

dippy - your memory is functioning well - the east route is the only sensible and logical solution to encourage more business into the city. Without business the city is doomed. It is also substantially shorter and cheaper. Jesse has gone into it in some detail. That the council have already discounted the east route will be their undoing at the core strategy public enquiry, methinks. They are putting all their cards on builders being cash cows - a dangerous and uncertain game to play - certainly one they lost at the OLM. With thousands more houses, the city will simply choke to death.

[Bill Thomas]

dippy - your memory is functioning well - the east route is the only sensible and logical solution to encourage more business into the city. Without business the city is doomed. It is also substantially shorter and cheaper. Jesse has gone into it in some detail. That the council have already discounted the east route will be their undoing at the core strategy public enquiry, methinks. They are putting all their cards on builders being cash cows - a dangerous and uncertain game to play - certainly one they lost at the OLM. With thousands more houses, the city will simply choke to death.

 

You guys really could do with popping in and expressing your thoughts and idea's today at some point, no good all moaning after, this is YOUR opportunity to speak up! The exhibition has been there all week and I appreciate that most of us work but it is open until 8pm tonight, so I would urge those of you that have not been to please visit.

[Mick]

I had a look this morning, nobody from the public there, only me. Interesting to see their idea's but I did express that I preferred the eastern route but this has clearly been dismissed by the sound of it. I was told exactly the same as what M Preece has written above, they are telling us that there are far too many problems and obstacles going east and planning would never be passed. 

[Denise Lloyd]

On the land between the A465 and the A49 there are two council farms (we are all eagerly awaiting Bramer's feasibility study of same).  The proposed new road will run through these.  I get the feeling there will be more family silver being sold to achieve the goal.  There is still time to complete the online questionnaire if anybody has strong feelings about this.  Yes I was incorrect you can complete it online and you don't have to put your name to it either.     

 

Is Caradoc at Ross one of Bramer's residences since his relationship break up I have lost track a bit?.

[dippyhippy]

Hi Denise!

 

Harry Bramer bought Caradoc Court in 2009. In 2010 he applied for, and was granted planning permission for six dwellings to be built within its grounds.

I have no idea if he still owns this, or it's the one he sold a few months ago......for three million quid!