QUESTIONS were asked about whether a sum of money paid to Herefordshire Council for the South Wye Transport Package (SWTP) needs to be paid back.

At Herefordshire Council's cabinet meeting, leader of It's Our County, Anthony Powers, read out an email obtained following a FOI request.

It was regarding a sum of £1.7m transferred to the council from the Marches LEP towards the £35m package, which includes the Southern Link Road (the first section of the western bypass).

Cllr Powers read from the email: "We discussed the possibility of Herefordshire paying back the funds we previously released to the SWTP which helped the LEP to meet the level of Growth Deal spend required by government - thank you again for helping."

The email later said: "Please could you consider transferring the funds (£1,697,609.36) back to the LEP during this financial year?"

Cllr Powers said this leaves a discrepancy as the council maintain that they do not have to pay it back.

Chief finance officer Andrew Lovegrove said he would supply a written answer.

Chairman of the council, Tony Johnson, said it is not a loan and it is a grant. He said: "I suspect what is under discussion [in the email] is the rate it is going to be given out to us is being adjusted."

At the cabinet meeting there were 30 questions from members of the public, all addressed to cabinet member for infrastructure, Philip Price, about the Southern Link Road.

Questions were focused on whether the council had done enough to improve active travel measures, such as improving cycling routes, before building the road, how pollution will affect residents and how the council will reduce city centre congestion when the bypass will not change the school trips made or residents making short journeys.

Cllr Price said there is a need to reduce dependency on cars but that the transport plans are not just about reducing congestion in the city centre. He said the A49 forms part of the strategic road network in the Midlands.

He said: "Hereford cannot deliver a traffic free city centre without a sufficient strategic network around it."

Fifteen minutes is usually allowed for public speaking but Cllr Johnson extended this for the members of the public to ask questions.

Just over half of the way through the 30 questions, Cllr Johnson asked if the council could just hear the questions from members of the public who attended.

But Liz Morawiecka said that the constitution allows all questions from members of the public so all of the questions were read out in the meeting.

The cabinet approved the recommendation to confirm making of the Compulsory Purchase Order and Side Roads Order and to approve the procurement of a contractor for the Southern Link Road.

The meeting heard that discussions with landowners were progressing well.