HOPES for a second transport system to link the north and south side of Hereford have been ruled out.

Mooted proposals for a light tramway system to run along the city's Great Western Way are ‘not viable’ according to Herefordshire Council.

Councillor Sebastian Bowen asked in a formal written question ahead of last week’s full council meeting whether full and proper consideration had been given to the possible implementation and 'very large potential benefits' of a Hereford light tramway system.

But responding to the question, Cllr Philip Price, cabinet member for infrastructure, said: "Detailed studies have previously been carried out to assess the costs and benefits of the introduction of such a scheme in Hereford.

"Taking into account the constraints you would expect to be associated with delivering such a scheme in a historic city centre, the studies concluded that investment would represent poor value for money when compared to other investment in transport for the city.

"Although these studies were undertaken some years ago, nothing has happened in the intervening time to suggest a new study would produce a different result."

One suggestion put forward previously by members of online forum Hereford Voice was for the tramway to run along the route of the Great Western Way, allowing room for pedestrians and cyclists.

Such a scheme would not cause too much disruption and would be at a fraction of the cost of putting in a road without using prime agricultural land, it was suggested.

Speaking at last week's meeting, Cllr Bowen said he felt more could be done to look at transport in a ‘radical way’.

But Cllr Price said a tramway system was not an ‘efficient’ or ‘sustainable’ solution and that the council would not be looking at introducing such a scheme any time soon.

It will be a blow to anyone living south of the city, with proposals for a second rail link at Rotherwas also having been ruled out earlier last year.

The decision, signed off at cabinet level, said no further work would be undertaken to progress the scheme for a new link between the city’s railway station and the Rotherwas Industrial Estate because it did not offer value for money.