Cloudberry

Hope people will go. So many Herefordians are completely unaware of the implications. The SLR is not just a road, it's part of the Cabinet's grand plan to make Hereford an "urban powerhouse"! Would this really bring prosperity? Or just be a waste of money? (and destroy beautiful countryside)

Hope there are lots of useful answers from Cabinet members to questions from the public about the Southern Link Road and Hereford's transport in general at this morning's full Council meeting, Shire Hall!

Very well done to all those who work so hard with Hereford in Bloom! The colourful displays do make a big difference and hopefully they will help encourage more tourists to keep on coming back to Hereford.

I see that even the report by Parsons Brinckerhoff in support of the SLR for Herefordshire Council, December 2014: Bat Activity Report does talk about rare barbastelle bats quite a lot, for example: “Some of the Herefordshire Biological Records Centre records are located less than 500 m from the SLR. Lesser horseshoe bat, barbastelle, serotine, Leisler‟s, noctule, long-eared spp., Natterer‟s, soprano pipistrelle and common pipistrelle were all recorded as present (not roosting) in 2008 approximately 300 m north of SLR, adjacent to the railway.†"Of the Annex II species, barbastelle was recorded during the transect surveys on 14 occasions. Five of the calls were recorded during the July dawn survey (in the vicinity of stops 3 and 13 of transect 2). Four of the calls were recorded during the August dusk survey (in the vicinity of stops 9, 11 and 12 of transect 3 and stop 6 of transect 1). The remaining calls were recorded during the April, May, July and October dusk surveys."

How do you know the Woodland Trust haven't visited Grafton Wood, Ragwert? I wouldn't have thought they would object in such strong terms if they had not. Anyway, it's rubbish to say that tree roosts in Grafton Wood would not be affected, because bats (and lots of other wildlife) are very sensitive to light, air and noise pollution, and they would get plenty of that. Unfortunately the National Biodiversity Network is very reliant on volunteers providing wildlife records. Councils have not had resources to collect data and monitor wildlife on a consistent basis for many, many years. So these days just because there are few records listed does not necessarily mean something is not present. This road would do a lot of damage to wildlife and mitigation is not possible. The National Planning Policy Framework states that ancient woodland is irreplaceable.

Well done Woodland Trust for objecting to Herefordshire Coujncil about the Southern Link Road and writing about it in their latest Midlands Broadleaf magazine. Who knew that rare barbastelle and Nathusius' pipistrelle bats live in Grafton Wood, with other bat species too? They are not mentioned in the Council's environmental reports to support their plans. What else has been ignored? The proposed path of the SC2 route is straight through the middle of Grafton Wood. Still time to object, see https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/development-control/planning-applications/details?id=151314&search=southern%20link%20road

Flood risk map from the Environment Agency. And we all know that the greater the area of tarmac and roofs, the smaller the area for water to infiltrate into the soil, and the more the land will flood. The Environment Agency also have a map of water extraction and boreholes. I think I am right in saying that a lot of the water needed by Heineken/Bulmers comes from here. Drinks are mainly water, right?! What happens if abstracting water for cider etc.stops? Where would the water go instead?

I found more on their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/4Family/433353710157119 " 23 April: Hereford Vennture4Family has been set up to work in a very similar way to how Yeovil4Family (Y4F) operates, ie working with other agencies such as their local council, the police & school. They are very excited because they took their first family referral last week.Good news indeed for 4Family, Hereford Vennture4Family & most of all, the family referred because that family will get wonderful input as a result the 4Family motivations of ........hope, transformation, community, equality, & inclusivity. They are the first of many families there waiting to be referred." It must be very tempting for Councils to save money by using well-meaning volunteers like this, but what controls are there, how adeqate is the training? What do trained social workers think about this? Isn't there a big risk of a future scandal of some sort? "17 March: Yeovil4Family.........The beginning. Part one Upon being employed by Yeovil Community Church as the Children's and Families Leader in September 2008, Rachel Dyer became aware that some of the families we came into contact with through church ran children's groups were in crisis - whether as a result of divorce, domestic abuse, drug and alcohol misuse that was affecting their parenting and families, whose children were the subject of child protection plans. They were at risk of having their children removed. Families began to talk to Rachel because they felt they had nowhere to go. They needed someone to listen to them, value them, encourage them and help them to work out a plan for their lives. Rachel began to support some families more intensely, utilising the skills gained as a family law solicitor and the knowledge from her Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) qualification." "19 March: Yeovil4Family.............The Beginning. Part two Through conversation with a social worker, Rachel was asked if she knew of other people available to support other families that she was working with. So the idea was born to train and equip volunteers to support and mentor parents and carers. To walk alongside them by helping families to help themselves. Despite searching for an 'off the shelf' training model to use, other than Home Start, which was an expensive and more restrictive option that didn't match her needs,nothing else seemed available. Rachel formed a working group researching the idea, the model and best method of training a group of volunteer mentors. As Rachel developed the plan, she shared it with Children's Social Care in order to complement statutory works. Finally a programme was developed and Rachel invited people from local churches who had a heart and passion for families to share her vision with them. In May 2011 Rachel embarked on the first training course of 12 candidate Family Mentors from five different local churches. Yeovil4Family was born."

So it sounds from what Denise says, that the process goes like this. HC would like to encourage as much building as possible because each planning application brings them loadsamoney. Therefore they are happy to propose 16500 houses across Herefordshire whether we need them or not. We are told it’s the only way to bring jobs and prosperity to Herefordshire. But if the jobs go to the construction industry and the prosperity is split between constructors/solicitors/etc. and HC, how does that help the ordinary person? How can we be sure the extra dosh will go to Libraries etc.? And when the construction phase is finished, what then? - how do you sustain the “prosperity� The new homes at the Furlongs off Roman Road seem still very slow to sell, so is there really such a demand? Nor is the Enterprise Zone expanding very quickly. Are we at risk of having many homes built that are not actually needed in this location, like happened in southern Ireland? I stand by the importance of not ruining nationally rare top grade soils and our unique wildlife, (which does not include all of the the rural County). In most counties no-one ever hears a cuckoo anymore and many people don't realise how special Herefodshire is. On the edge of the city I hear cuckoos, skylarks, yellowhammers, etc. every year, but once gone, they are likely to be gone forever.

Spot on about the importance of decent road or rail links, Clarkester! You are right about the M50, it seems to be under-used at the moment, even though it also has access close to Ledbury. To my mind the siting of any potential housing sites should first consider the exisiting assets. Once gone, that's it for ever. Don't build on top grade soils or irreplaceable landscape/wildlife sites, or sites with a particular heritage.

Interesting points, see comments on http://www.herefordtimes.com/news/13524239.Casual_vacancies_on_parish_council/ But of course many parish councils are doing a lot of good and essential work, all on a voluntary basis, and not all include the type of councillors who do nothing between meetings!

It's good to see some more Reps are added now. I guess some people or organisations did not put in a response because either did not feel they know enough, or they could not find time to find out, or they just didn't realise what was going on. If things like this are only covered on media like Hereford Voice, not enough people get to hear about it.

Yes Amanda, I understand about resources, which is why it is so important to use them to best advantage. One person at the meeting told us they had been working for over 20 years to promote cycling in Hereford, and knew the guest speaker well. Despite all enormous efforts of them and many others we are still in the situation we see today. Some people at the meeting knew each other because they have been working on all sorts of transport or environmental or political "campaigns" over the years (so Dippy, they don't necessarily live close enough to share lifts!) Some of their work will become more visible as the responses to the southern link road consultation are being gradually made public on the Council website. So why has there been so little progress on transport matters over the years? Not enough knowledge? Not enough support? Not enough resources? Not sufficient organisation of resources? I don't know, but what can we do that is different now? Well communication is the key as the guest speaker said, and some methods work better than others. One big change now is that so many more people use email. So it is much easier to get information to people directly, once you have asked for their email address.

For me the meeting was disappointing as I expected more than just preaching to the converted. Opportunities were missed. I expected the meeting to at least collect contact details so that those people there could be contacted easily. Why was the meeting not advertised through lots of other groups' email circulation lists (Three Elms, parish councils, wildlife groups maybe?) Why were not ALL Councillors invited? Various people had ideas but there was no effort to collect those ideas and consider their implications. What happens next? This should be the time to explore all the options that could really work best for Herefordians.

Sorry AV, I didn't mean to sound agressive, just arguing a case! And there were lots of "perhaps"! The rest of my reply is addressed to everyone! Are you sure that Hereford really does need to "progress" to such an extent? If you want a town where you can develop economic growth with "house and jobs", do you choose somewhere like Hereford in the first place? Do you choose a relatively remote town/city where central congestion is already bad and unless you can get people out of cars there aren't really any remedies? The Council's own transport studies have shown that a by-pass would be poor value for money because the majority of journeys are all in and out of Hereford and relatively few are through it. We are stuck with congestion, a by-pass won't help, and more houses/people/cars can only make it very much worse. Do you think Cargill and Heineken will expand and provide more jobs? What other job opportunities might there be? We do have the Enterprise Zone, but why has it not been supported properly, e.g. with a railhead? Not that many new jobs yet there, are there? Do you think new jobs rely on new homes being built? There are still brand new homes for sale at The Furlongs they don't seem able to sell. And many of the people who really do need homes in Hereford actually need the affordable variety, that the developers aren't so keen on building, not so much profit. I don't want to see so much money spent on road schemes that can't do what they are promising, when there are so many other things crying out for support.

Why do you want to support it AV? You think that opening up land for new housing is a good thing perhaps? And maybe that putting houses around Grafton (irrespective of ancient woodland etc.) is a great choice? And that it won't matter that all those extra cars from all those new houses will be ADDING to congestion on Ross Road and Belmont Road? And perhaps you think that extending a southern link road into a "western relief road" will solve all Hereford's congestion problems?! If this is what you think, dream on! "Relief roads" can only ever address congestion issues if there are NO new houses, with NO new people each relying on their car. What do you think the people of Worcester were promised? And what have they got now?

Yes, today is the deadline. Don't be fooled that the Environment Agency and Highways England apparently have few objections. They don't live here, probably just glanced at a map in a hurry... There's no doubt. This road can't do what they say it will. It won't help reduce congestion, won't reduce carbon emissions, won't reduce traffic noise, won't reduce accidents, won't encourage physical activity. How could it? All it could do would be to link two main roads (from Abergavenny and Ross) that still converge on ASDA roundabout. It wouldn't be dual carriageway and would have no cycle lanes. It might help access the Enterprise Zone a bit, but not that much. All this is going to cost £27 million, which makes it a VERY expensive piece of road!

Well done!!

All the docs about the SC2 route are so difficult. Why couldn't they name them properly to signpost what each is about? Who has time to go through all 107? But as others have said, they really don't seem to have looked at the environmental stuff at all properly. They keep ignoring the fact that Grafton Wood, that will be bisected by the new road, (even if it does not have so many trees), is ancient woodland just like Newton Copse and Hayleasow Wood. These were all once part of Haywood Forest, right back to Domesday. There is a footpath between the A49 and Grafton Wood, and the first part has old trees, ditches and a huge bank along it that is probably the old forest boundary. On the map of hedges surveyed for SC2 this has apparently not been looked at, at all, but this is our local heritage! I have not found anything at all to read about archaeology. Surely there must be a lot to find around here, so close to the Rotherwas Ribbon? Surely they can't ignore all that too, - can they?

I'm sure I've seen a map somewhere this week (was it H Times website, a piece about selling off Council-owned farmland?) that shows where the SC2 route would go through a large area of Council owned farm land. So if they sell it to developers that's where the first area of new housing will be!

Thank you to whoever it was, (can’t remember which thread), for posting details of the Three Elms Community group meeting last night (as otherwise I would not have known.) Many thanks to Jim Kenyon for chairing, - great to have expertise from him and the other Councillors on how to do community groups. Most people saw many more cars (from 1000+ new houses) as the biggest threat that would make the existing peak-time congestion into Hereford on Roman Road and Whitecross Road very much worse. Do people from Credenhill etc. realise how they would be affected too? We also heard many other things about the land round Huntington Lane, - it being A1 agricultural land, full of wildlife, prone to flood, especially if water now being taken out by Heineken Bulmers and Cargill was ever stopped. Regular meetings being planned now, Facebook page etc.!

I would have liked to have been there, but couldn't. So I'm very interested to hear reports of the meeting on this thread.

Good questions, Denise! The Southern Link Road is supposed to be part of the South Wye (Sustainable) Transport Package “The aim of the South Wye Transport Package is to: • Reduce congestion and delay • Enable access to developments such as the HEZ • Reduce the growth in emissions • Reduce traffic noise • Reduce accidents and • Encourage physical activity†But to my mind the Southern Link Road does not help with any of these aims, except help access to HEZ from the A465 for the very few who might need that route. Can this be discussed please? A discussion of bypasses and where/why they might or might not work will be very good! Also, how can we achieve a safe cycle route E-W across Hereford? Why can’t cyclists share more footpaths with pedestrians (bell mandatory!) without expensive work on cycle lanes?? What happened to the idea of a transport hub at the station, where you could move seamlessly between train and bus without having to lug your bags for miles? And possibly with a shuttle bus to the shops/restaurants? What other practical steps can be taken to help people not use their cars so much? (Bearing in mind that there are many elderly in Herefordshire who are not going to start cycling now!)

If there's no formal agenda, please don't let this important transport issues meeting (Kindle, Friday evening) just become a big rant. What do you want to get out of it?

If you were going to propose a town/city to expand into a “growth hubâ€, who would actually choose to start with somewhere bisected by a river, and with only one road bridge? Add the stunning landscape and heritage all around, that should not be spoiled for future generations, and don't you conclude that Hereford ought to be allowed to grow only on a much more modest scale! So I quite agree about Mordiford, Cambo. But the point is that although bypasses sound like the answer they won’t help at all because here they are ALL related to huge building programmes adding more and more cars into the system. We are to expect 16,500 new homes across Herefordshire by 2031, and many would be built BEFORE a new river bridge and bypass. How many extra cars does that mean? And they are ALL going to be coming in to central Hereford for shopping, hospital, schools or one thing or another. For a start, think of the impact on Whitecross Road and Roman Road of the proposed 1000 new homes at Three Elms, planning proposal going in this autumn. Plus all those already approved at Holmer. Then multiply…. and you will see that the proposed single carriageway “by-pass†or “relief road†costing up to £200 million would be no such thing.