A FURTHER 100 letters of objection have been delivered to planning officers by those opposing an earmarked link road on the outskirts of Hereford.

An event was held in High Town, Hereford to raise awareness of a current planning application to build a Southern Link Road (SLR) connecting the A49 near Rotherwas with the A465.

A similar stand, also in the centre of Hereford, was held earlier this month and attracted 90 letters of objection.

The latest event saw members of the Herefordshire Transport Alliance on hand to answer questions, while one of those manning the stand was Kate Sharp, who lives on Haywood Lane, south of the city, and says the vast majority of traffic currently travelling through the city is not 'through traffic'.

"We were able to talk to the general public about traffic issues and all but a few agreed that this SLR will not improve congestion in our city centre - it only decants traffic from the A465 onto the A49," said Mrs Sharp.

"Many residents didn’t know that only 13 per cent of traffic to Hereford is ‘through traffic’.

"Many Ross Road residents didn’t know that traffic on their already congested road will increase by 15% if the SLR is built and will mainly see an increase in HGV’s as they will be diverted from Belmont Road."

Last month, Mrs Sharp presented Herefordshire Council chairman, Cllr Brian Wilcox, with a 242-signature petition against the planned road, which would be just over two-and-a-half miles long.

In a letter delivered with the petition, she said: “This is an honest petition from people who primarily live to the south of the city and travel using the A465 or A49.

“There is a firm belief that this planned SLR will do nothing to relieve congestion and they feel that irreparable damage will be done to the Herefordshire countryside.”

The road is part of a package of measures proposed to address congestion and delays in South Wye while easing access to the Hereford Enterprise Zone at Rotherwas.

It is expected to cost about £25 million with Cllr Philip Price, cabinet member for infrastructure, stating the route has been largely funded by the government through a successful bidding round through the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership against tough competition from other projects because of the 'value added benefits' to the economy and travel sustainability.