Herefordshire Council has applied to itself to determine whether it needs a full environmental impact assessment (EIA) for work at two dozen spots around the planned new first phase for the Hereford bypass not covered by the original planning permission.
In application 261956 it asks for official confirmation that it will not need the potentially time-consuming environmental sign-off for 26 sites, currently farmland, scattered around the route of the planned road from the A49 round to the A465 southwest of Hereford, where “enabling works” are planned.
In an accompanying 31-page letter, the council’s consultants AECOM explains these will mostly host access routes to the bypass site, but also drainage, stockpiling, and a two-acre fenced “temporary construction compound” for worker welfare facilities, parking and storage beside the planned new roundabout with the A465.
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Claiming it submission demonstrates no EIA is needed, AECOM writes it is “unlikely that there will be significant negative effects on the environment” from works in these areas.
Nonetheless, it says it still plans to carry out environmental studies “to support the planning application” for the works sites, which is expected to be submitted shortly.
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Urging others to write in on the issue, local campaigner Emil Morfett wrote online: “I object to these temporary developments without full EIA.
“These are zones for usage that could exceed two years, including soil compaction, pollution from machinery maintenance, loss of trees, hedges and loss of unmapped biodiversity.”
Comments can be submitted till August 10.
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