Bypass review to be scrutinised

The review into the planned bypass and southern link road for Hereford will be scrutinised by councillors next month.

Herefordshire Council infrastructure and transport chief John Harrington decided to pause and review the proposed bypass west of Hereford and southern link road in August last year.

In January, council leaders agreed to spend up to £451,000 on reviewing the Hereford and South Wye transport packages.

Now councillors will soon have a chance to scrutinise the report which will set out options for the future of transport in the city.

Councillor Harrington had anticipated that the technical work would be completed by the end of September but asked for further work to be undertaken to take into account more factors.

“It became clear during the final stages of the review that there was a considerable amount of technical information to review and interpret – this includes the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic which has changed travel behaviour, alongside emerging national policy changes addressing climate change and the environment,” he said in an open letter.

The Hereford transport strategy review report will set out the assessment criteria and process undertaken and describe objectives and outcomes against which potential future options could be judged.

The report will be considered by the general scrutiny committee on November 9 and then by cabinet in December who will decide the next steps for the transport strategy. More information on the report is expected next week.