I FEEL compelled to write to you, although I have never written to the paper before.

I am in my mid-fifties and all my life there has been talk about a Hereford bypass, although the level of traffic was minuscule compared to what it is now.

Every other town seems to have had one and it has not killed their town, just made life easier – to get on with work or visit that town.

I am a huge believer in buying and supporting local as a sustainable and morally right thing to do. What goes around, comes around.

I have always done my business, clothes shopping, and Christmas shopping in Hereford, until 2019 when the council decided to stop this long-awaitedand needed road.

My children have attended Hereford Cathedral School, which is a fantastic seat of learning within the county.

But we will not enjoy having them around when they grow up as my parents have done, as there is very little here for them.

The quality of jobs is few and far between in this quaint and forgettable county.

They will not be here to look after us as we grow old, so social services will have to do the job instead.

I queued for 40 minutes one day going across past the cemetery to get across the dual carriageway to collect my daughter as she was ill.

Me and numerous other cars, all sitting with our engines running, as we tried to go from one side of Hereford and out of the other side.

After the recent case in London in which it was ruled that a child had died as a result of poor air quality from heavy congestion, a decision not to get the traffic out and moving is leaving the council very vulnerable to have a claim against all who are obstructing this progress, when there have been reports that congestion will be improved with a bypass.

It is well known in the business community that Hereford is about the worst place in the country to have a business, and all national lorry drivers know that Hereford is to be avoided.

What a reputation to have and be responsible for.

None of my friends bother to come in any more to support the local businesses, which you need for their business rates for the wages and expenses of councillors. I do not either.

After the new market development was done, there was such an optimistic buzz in the city that it was at last regenerating into a modern, happening city with charm and sophistication.

This has gone now and county people have drifted away from the dying wreck of Hereford.

Hereford can either die or be resurrected. It’s up to the council whether they put the final nail in the coffin or not.

E Gorst

Hereford

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