In 1996 I was employed as a sales representative by a Cotswold-based quarrying company at Perton quarry near Stoke Edith.

The company which owned and operated a quarry near Stow-on-the-Wold had taken on the lease for operating the Perton quarry even though it was well outside their normal area of activity.

They did this because they had made a commercial decision based on the fact, or so they thought, that the Hereford by-pass was going to be built around that time and they could tender for the roadstone/aggregates supply.

Local material from a local quarry on the door step of the project.

That would tick a lot of environmental/green boxes now I think. However, as we all know, nothing happened and eventually they did not renew the lease and retreated back to base camp.

I mention this because it struck me as an awful long time to make a decision on the issue and, in my view, a complete failure of subsequent councils to get the job done.

You only need to look at completed infrastructure projects in and around our neighbours Worcestershire and Gloucestershire to see how backward we are in our decision making, or lack of it !

I would like to register my support for the building of the western by-pass as quickly as possible and look forward to the Council giving the go ahead.

Hope springs eternal.

Jim Argent

Ledbury

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