Public quiz transport boss over city bypass plan

Members of the public have quizzed Herefordshire's transport chief over the county council's preparations for the £40m "phase one" of the Hereford bypass.

It came during a cabinet meeting to approve a proposal to buy roughly 30 hectares of land between the A49 and A465 to accommodate the bypass, which it wants to start building within a year.

The plan includes a "backstop" of seeking a compulsory purchase order (CPO) as negotiations with landowners continue. But resident Jim Hardy asked Councillor Philip Price, cabinet member for transport, why the plan had not been made public.

Price responded that "it is the intention to publish this in due course".

Mr Hardy had noted the council had yet to make public its "statement of reasons" for pursuing the CPO option, which referred to "further [transport] modelling undertaken in 2025… to assure that the benefits [of the bypass] identified remain valid".

Jeremy Milln, a city councillor who was not representing the council at the meeting, said Price had told him in January that studies of the bypass's environmental impact would be in place "later this year", along with a full business case review.

But in a written response to Milln before the meeting, Price had said: "We have always been clear that the full business case and the environmental studies will be provided next year, ahead of the construction contract award."

At the meeting, Milln told Price that response had been "untruthful" and called on him to either correct it "or provide the business case and supporting studies this year".

Price replied: "As we move through this, we meet various time delays. I will write to you with an answer."

The transport chief also said in response to resident Emil Morfett that the council had "set aside budget to accommodate the level of BNG [biodiversity net gain] needed to meet statutory requirements" for the project.

Tracey Bowes, another resident, had made a submission to the meeting and noted phase one would "undoubtedly help improve access" to Bloor Homes' proposed 540-home "southern extension" to the city, currently awaiting planning permission.

However, she asked why the council had "not identified any funding from this specific developer or other future developers" to cover some of its cost.

Price said a written answer would also be provided on this issue, which he described as "complex".

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