Hereford Labour Party has added its voice to the objectors to the ‘Southern Relief Road’ planning application P151314/F.
We note that no case has been made for the proposed road reducing traffic congestion in Hereford City. Previous surveys have identified that the majority of vehicle journeys are to and from the City rather than through traffic and that
between a quarter and a half of traffic flow at peak times is related to school term time.
We also note that Rotherwas industrial estate traffic can already access the motorway system to the West Midlands and Wales via the A49 and Ross.
How can a council that is evicting families from council owned agricultural holdings, has serious problems in its social work department, has ended funding for the Courtyard and the Citizens’ Advice Centre (which is closing its drop
in centre in June), and has most of its library books packed up in the Broad Street basement put so much effort into continual road building? A small local authority, as Herefordshire is, cannot fund a new road and a ‘bypass’ without Department of Transport
financial backing even if its funding from government was not being continually cut.
The council will point to £30 million of Local Enterprise Partnership money but this does not have to be spent this project and anyway is insignificant in terns of a full bypass. They are unlikely to secure Department support without
adopting other measures to tackle traffic flows first and meanwhile they spend our money on consultants, plans and ‘public consultations’.
I have spent most of my working life dealing with early morning Hereford traffic and recognise the ‘something must be done’ sentiment that arises out of the frustration of being in a slow moving queue but the southern Relief Road is
not the answer.
Yours sincerely
Anna Coda
Chair Hereford and S Herefordshire Labour Party
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