THE leader of Herefordshire Council says new housing is crucial to the county’s future vitality.
Around 17,000 new homes are earmarked for Herefordshire over the next two decades with work underway to attract businesses and jobs to the area.
Councillor John Jarvis told the Hereford Times that the county needs between “16,500 to 17,000 new homes by 2030”.
He said: “If we don’t provide this then 90 per cent of our budget will be spent on adult social care in the future.
“That is what we are facing and we need to deal with it.”
He said the much-talked about bypass was key to delivering the massive house-building plans, adding he hopes to have the road plans drawn up in due course.
“We have been doing a lot of work on the south-western stretch,” he said.
“I hope we will have permission for the whole road by the end of this administration.
The planning applications are likely to come in three separate parts.”
The Enterprize Zone at Rotherwas is a key part in the county’s regeneration, according to the leader.
Prime Minister David Cameron gave the scheme the thumbs up during his visit to the Hereford industrial estate in January.
Coun Jarvis also said housing can't go anywhere without the infrastructure and re-opening an existing railway line from the city to Rotherwas, along with a passenger station there, remains “a possibility”.
A financial study has recently shown it would cost about £10 million to reopen the line and a new station.
