Amanda Martin

Denise, I'm definitely not. To answer your question, though, no we haven't yet and this is a good suggestion. I was impressed by Ashley last night and I hope he gets his objection in.

Denise, Cllrs Tracy Bowes and David Summers were there. One of the others was stuck in traffic I think.

It was a mistake to hold it on a Friday as well.

"Norman" - I'm sure I'm not the first.

I want to crawl under a rock and die this morning. I'm not a natural public speaker but last time I was angry enough with Johnson and Bretherton to forget to be cripplingly shy. Nothing frustrates me more than my own limitations but it's too important to give up on. The personal tragedy looming for Mike and Jean Harris and the sheer arrogance implied in Parsons Brinckerhoff's corner cutting should motivate us all. As ever, Anthony Powers' presentation of the facts was forensic and flawless and needs to be deployed before a bigger audience along with some of the excellent contributions we heard. To that end, I'm going to have one more go at gauging public opinion by organising a repeat event for the week after next with an ad in the Hereford Times on Monday morning. It's imperative that we get a speaker of Anthony's calibre to give the wider picture and I have someone in mind who may be available before the consultation period expires. We somehow need to get a head of steam behind this. I heard enough angry comments on the doorstep while I was canvassing to believe that it's lack of community organisation rather than apathy that is impeding effective opposition. Ashley Elliott impressed me and reminded me that the various agencies involved in these things depend on people not having the expertise to challenge them. For this reason poor communities are disproportionately dumped on. I'm not sure Jesse Normal is particularly invested in this scheme or the Enterprise Zone but likes a quiet life and will have gone along with the blandishments of the suits on the board of Skylon Park. I don't really think Jesse cares how Herefordshire looks in ten years time.

Spot on Maggie May and green knight. The contradictions expose either the dishonesty or extreme confusion in the thinking. My suspicion is that they will come up with any rationalisation because they can't say what they're really thinking: that they don't really care about the consequences provided it all makes a profit. Denise, there's no formal agenda. I'm going to talk a bit about the historical backdrop of it all and Anthony Powers will speak about the progress of the Southern Link Road in the Council chamber and I'm hoping to follow up with some slides of one of my study trips to the Netherlands. John Harrington will chair the meeting and there will be plenty of opportunity for people to air their views: there's nothing worse than going to a gig like this and being told to keep your contributions in question form and limited to 140 characters. Some of the recently formed Three Elms Action group may come along - the housing plans are bound up with the transport issues and I agree with what you both say. I'm not this humourless in real life by the way. I fear if I say the words "induced traffic" one more time, green knight might have to run me over.

Good stuff from John. Actually, Cambo, I'm not in favour of congestion charges either. Studies show (sorry, I know that's annoying but they do) that where there are no feasible alternatives, people will just dig deeper and carry on driving because they have to - it's an elastic market. I think you have to put the alternatives in place first. You know what I don't understand? There's a small fortune spent on consultants who "borrow your watch to tell you the time" and yet the guys who know how to do this stuff are just across the channel! Why the hell don't we ask them?!!

The clue being in the word "better". I mostly oppose these schemes on social and economic rather than conservation grounds and with the greatest respect, you still don't seem to grasp that building roads won't solve the problem and provide poor value for money. I don't make this stuff up. Google "SACTRA - Trunk Roads and The Generation of Traffic" which deals with the phenomenon on trunk and local networks and take your pick from the plethora of reports on this. Professor Phil Goodwin's are particularly useful for analyses of traffic growth on "improved" roads. Neither am I suggesting doing nothing but sometimes it's not the "simple shapes and primary colours" solutions that are most effective but those with a little more subtlety. There is nothing inevitable about traffic growth. It is not an inexorable law of the universe that rising affluence will result is more car use: it has resulted because policy has driven it. From the time North Sea oil came on stream, and Ernest Marples commissioned Beeching's report and pushed road expansion to benefit Marples Ridgeway, it has been engineered by vested interests that want to perpetuate and profit from it.

I would never advocate a bunker mentality but there's a circularity in the rationale for these schemes that betrays their dishonesty: on the one hand there's the usual rhetoric about resolving congestion problems; on the other hand the roads are required to stimulate growth and the housing is therefore needed to accommodate the incomers who have been attracted by the roads and housing. It's intellectually bankrupt and defies any common sense justification. If we don't build the roads, we won't have the housing or therefore the incomers. In any event, I don't see that carpeting the countryside with formulaic roads,sheds and shoddy boxes and importing thousands of people so that the tarmac and growth crazed LEP and Council can raise money and justify their existence is either progress or inevitable. I agree with Cloudberry: we need to develop more thoughtfully and incrementally and in a way that really does respect the county's irreplaceable environmental assets instead of just saying we ought to. There's always a glaring mismatch between the rhetoric of green motherhood statements in the Council's policy documents and what they actually want to do. There's much talk of "balance" between the need to grow whilst respecting wildlife, habitats and landscapes but in reality there is no balance. On the contrary, the slightest perceived economic benefit can justify the wiping out of 120 acres of ancient woodland, as at Newbury. Here in Herefordshire, history will repeat itself if we don't act: where there is the slightest conflict between growth and intangible assets that can't be quantified in pounds and pence, the latter will be simply swept aside. The Southern Link Road will take out an ancient landcape of gently winding lanes, ancient woodland, well kept hedgerows and valuable habitats for no discernible good reason and with a confused rationale of wanting the road to solve congestion whilst also wanting the road to facilitate growth and provide access to Rotherwas. Even if the economic benefits could be demonstrated, we don't have the right to go on destroying our children's heritage for short term gain the way we are. The M3 through Twyford Down and the even more destructive Newbury Bypass should be lessons to us to be wary of politicians who tell us these road schemes are to save us time and bring us prosperity. In reality they are nothing more than the cynical blandishments of a road lobby that has called the shots for decades and is significantly invested in keeping us in cars, building roads and fuelling congestion for as long as possible. Even Steven Norris admitted that the protesters at Newbury were right: the benefits of the road did not justify the destruction and were illusory in any event. This much destruction to save motorists ten minutes on their journey is not, to my mind, a good reason for destroying Snelsmore Common.

Thanks, Glenda. I wasn't literally suggesting that these particular properties have the issues I mentioned but rather that the answer lies in designing some internal lighting rather than cutting down trees. I agree with Megilleland and if we can't decide for ourselves that we prefer green spaces to concrete and traffic, we're screw ed.

Oh no, I think I know what's coming next. I can hear the chainsaws firing up now. From an interior design point of view, and wearing a hat I don't often have time to put on these days, rooms don't need a lot of natural light in order to be light. The problem is that most of these sorts of developments are done by the same kind of male mindset that also designs our streets. I've lost count of the number of new builds we've seen where the only lighting is one sad tungsten bulb in the middle of the ceiling, usually accompanied by pipes running straight across walls, the boiler is in full view in the kitchen, bathroom sinks hanging over the edge of the bath or part way across a window or, most common of all, the radiator is behind the door. Then they usually run amok with a pot of Magnolia. These guys just have no flare and the answer is not to cut down the trees but I bet that's what will happen.

It's taken a long time for the penny to drop but after researching the historic links between successive governments and the oil and gas industry, I've realised that the last thing that BP stooge Cameron wants to do is solve traffic problems.

Don't worry, Denise, I can be equally tedious on the evils of the road lobby but no promises - these things tend to free range widely.

Looks like Archie is very busy digging himself out from underneath the post and firing off standard replies, although I think he needs to "read the question" as my old English teacher used to say; you ask about the SLR and get a reply about the eastern crossing. Slightly worried that this eastern crossing genie is about to be out of the bottle too. The extra 3km link to Ledbury Road would be as bad if not worse than the SLR. Problem is everybody on HT has an opinion but no-one else has read the reports as far as I know!

IOC and Hereford Transport Forum don't want this to sink without trace. People will have noticed the campaign stuff starting to ramp up now that we can't progress things politically for the time being. There will be some public meetings coming up at which people can come and hear and talk about transport stuff, the Southern Relief Road, bypass, throw tomatoes that sort of thing, so watch this space. Should be lively! We're looking into booking the Kindle Centre before the closing date for objections to the SLR in 21 days time - it's now on the Council's website apparently. IN place of the various roads and acres of housing, we're pushing a more incremental and thoughtful agenda which would include looking at this LRT proposal - be good if Colin would come and speak. It's relevant because, if the SLR is built, it will directly affect (quite seriously) the traffic problems on Belmont Road - see Table 13 of Parsons Brinckerhoff's report. http://councillors.herefordshire.gov.uk/documents/s50021852/Appedix%201%20-%20South%20Wye%20Transport%20Package%20Preferred%20Option%20Report%20Final%20Low%20RES.pdf

Wow - respect.

I am thinking about these points. Darrell there is a meeting tonight and I think you should come and reiterate them. The one thing I can't accept is that Anthony is motivated by ego; in fact I know that is not the case. There will have been mistakes made and I am sure lessons will have been learned- sorry about that cliche . Anthony is not a dictator. I didn't attend those early meetings but there will have been a full discussion and a vote on key elements of the election strategy. The party conducts itself very democratically but democracy doesn't always get it right. I have to admit I couldn't face the wake in the pub last night but I will think about the points made and take them with me to tonight's meeting.

I'm not sure why the word "s--n_Atch" was censored out of my previous post! I think this says more about Colin's mind :-)

I am sorry to let you down though, Dippy. That election thread made very horrible reading.

*Puts on tin hat* There are some valid points in there but hindsight is a wonderful thing and it's a tad harsh. In the absence of any Acme Candidate Making Power (just add water), it was only as the election loomed that candidates started coming forward - I was one of them actually, having vacillated until the 11th hour about whether or not to stand at all. As far as I'm aware, Anthony doesn't have a cloning machine either and I can tell you, he was passing us in a blur during all that Core Strategy stuff. I was reading the other day about a meeting he attended about the Southern Link Road. I believe there were seven councillors left and it was Anthony, Alan Seldon and Terry Matthews who managed to get the scheme sent back to Cabinet for more rigorous appraisal. http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/11660487.Council_stands_by_favoured_route_for_Hereford_s___25m_southern_link_road/ I think it needs to be borne in mind that IOC is still fresh out of its packet in political terms. It doesn't have a slick party machine and this is only the second election it has fought, against a moving backdrop of national political volatility. No-one, including the seasoned Paddy Ashdown, who is no doubt still on his hat, could have predicted the way things were going to go and this didn't help- neither did our inability to field a full complement of candidates ( we were 12 short I think). Even if all the Independents had thrown themselves at our feet, it wouldn't have won us this election although we didn't miss it by much in a number of wards. Rome wasn't dismantled in a day. IOC has gone from a standing start and has made extraordinary gains in four years. No-one is more disappointed with the end result than me - the lack of political success now means a shed load of gruelling campaigning my end - but, on the bright side, half of these Tories are going to be falling over or in care fairly soon and when the by-elections come along, we'll be ready for them. By the way, I think the decision to put me in Widemarsh ward was driven, excuse the pun, by the intention that should the occasion arise, I would be well placed to deal with the Highways Agency. Widemarsh is a key ward in transport terms and I would like another bite at that cherry. Losing by 23 votes has been a valuable lesson that it really is worth knocking every door - literally every vote counts. I genuinely don't feel that our leadership are driven by vanity and self aggrandisement - actually it's a remarkably ego free zone and we also generally get on extremely well. Dazza333, you had a particularly rough time and that loss was a bitter and unjust inability to snatch victory from the gums of defeat but I do believe that, in the fullness of time, the investment you made will reap its dividends. This evening I went round and thanked those who hadn't slammed their doors in my face. At one house an elderly couple is living in appalling conditions with an extension that you can literally wobble. Unbelievably the landlord is Herefordshire Housing. Others told me about parking and speeding problems. I said I would do what I could and also refer them on to Polly Andrews, who I'm sure will be delighted to take up the cases.

Maggie May, Officially the Council are backing a western route because this would open up a Klondike of housing opportunity. Frustratingly for them, though, they can't get funding for it. Again officially there are no public proposals for an eastern crossing and link road to the A438 but there is a lot of paddling away under the surface. The dystopian Skylon Park, a creature of the LEP and roads 'n growth crazed councillors, it's clear that this is not being discounted just yet. We could be taking our eyes off the ball. Watch it pop back up after they have exhausted all attempts to fund the western road. http://www.skylonpark.co.uk/media/1823/EZ-Exec-Board-mins-01-10-13.pdf Meanwhile, as you say, our newly returned MP is advocating it. It hasn't gone away. http://www.jessenorman.com/2015/02/hereford-times-column-building-an-economic-strategy-for-herefordshire-8-january-2015.html From the reports I have read and comments picked up in various minutes, the overall aim is to have a complete ring road around Hereford with associated development. In the shorter term, it would appear that Herefordshire Council has been talking to Welsh politicians with a view to getting the not yet built southern link road extended all the way round to the Brecon Road. http://www.skylonpark.co.uk/media/1817/EZ-Exec-minutes-05-06-14.pdf I've been reading the Skylon minutes. These people are a menace. It's clear that no amount of roadbuilding would be enough for them. Not content with having cheered on the HA as they f*cked up the A49, they're now agitating for further pinch point works on the A49 near Asda. It's never ending and the little comments here and there about the Council leader having met this or that person shows how these things are being sewn up on the quiet. I'm certainly not in favour of a western route. I'm not in favour of an eastern route either but I would support an assessment of the impact on the network of a river crossing in isolation i.e. without the 3km of link road to the A438. It wouldn't work in isolation but it could potentially be a useful element of a wider package of traffic reduction measures that could reduce car use for certain journeys.

Grid Knocker, you should write for Private Eye. :-)

Jeanharris asked me to post this.

Oh no.. *Face palm*

Hope your hangover's better, Dippy. We're going to need all the sobriety we can get.