FOREWORD September 2011
‘Sustainable transport for Hereford — the way forward’ has been commissioned by Here For Hereford, Cycle Hereford and Herefordshire Friends of the Earth. These local groups all have a stake in the sustainable development of Herefordshire, including a sustainable transport system.
In 2009 Herefordshire Council bid for central Government funding for what was then called ‘an outer distributor road’ for Hereford to support its role as a ‘growth point’. It failed. Explaining its reasons, the Department for Transport cited the ‘environmental grounds’ which had led to the road being dropped from the national roads programme. It advised Herefordshire Council to ‘investigate a full range of options for addressing the transport challenges in the area.’[1]
So far the Council has not carried out this investigation. It has recently commissioned studies supporting its choice of a Western alignment for a ‘Relief Road’ in response to those who have argued for an Eastern alignment. However, it has never shown a similar level of interest in alternatives to road building.
In this report MTRU explain why and how a proper alternative to road building should be tested.
The ‘sustainable option package’ preferred by Herefordshire Council includes bus lanes on the A49. These have the effect of increasing congestion by removing road space from cars, but without increasing the share of trips made by bus.
MTRU have proposed a variant suited to travel patterns in Hereford. MTRU’s proposal has a greater role for cycling but without the bus lanes or the ‘Relief Road’. This option would reduce car use more than the Council’s proposal, cause congestion to stabilise or fall and still allow for population growth and new development.
MTRU also demonstrate that, given all the recent modelling commissioned by Herefordshire Council, it would be straightforward to model this alternative, No Road, option.
Regardless of the outcome, the test of this alternative should be done. This country’s planning system requires that realistic alternatives to proposals within a Core Strategy should be tested and subject to sustainability appraisal in order for the Core Strategy to be justified and shown to be sound. The European Habitats Directive permits damage to a Special Area of Conservation only where no alternative to the development exists and where there is no overriding public interest.
The overriding public interest here is for Herefordshire Council to ensure that
1. it does not waste public money and time promoting a plan that cannot be shown to be sound;
2. there is minimal risk of having to abandon a road scheme while paying massive fines for environmental damage; and that
3. the entire county will not be paying over a £130million for an unnecessary road.
It will not be able to convince on any of these points until it has investigated an alternative like the one put forward here.
Here for Hereford, Cycle Hereford and Herefordshire Friends of the Earth
The report ‘Sustainable travel for Hereford – the way forward’ by MTRU Transport Planning Consultants http://www.mtru.com/
