Herefordshire Council have made these responses available to Here for Hereford at their Plough Lane offices. They date from November 2011, when various stakeholders submitted their comments on the Revised Preferred Option: ‘Help Plan the Future of Herefordshire’.
The summary of the responses can be read here [Summary LDF Statutory responses to autumn 2011 consultation, ]
Some key points to note from Here for Hereford’s study of the responses:-
NATURAL ENGLAND continue to oppose the relief road proposal and have grave reservations about the proposed timetable for completion of the plan documents if they are to be legally compliant. (Read their full response here Natural England Response to Revised Preferred Option Nov 2011 )
THE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY considers the Revised Preferred Option to be ‘unsound’ because the problems associated with waste water provision have not been fully resolved and the current evidence base lacks clarification on infrastructure delivery planning, costs, and sufficient flexibility. Currently, no development at Leominster could be allowed and also unlikely at Bromyard due to lack of waste water infrastructure.
THE HIGHWAYS AGENCY also considers the plan to be ‘unsound’, because the supporting transport evidence base about the Relief Road is still missing from the plan and they had highlighted this lack of evidence previously in autumn 2010.
Comments from agents on behalf of developers and land owners give the plan a much more positive reception regarding housing :-
BOYER PLANNING FOR BLOOR HOMES supports the overall approach of the Core Strategy; describes their ambitions for the South Hereford / Lower Bullingham Urban Extension, including sustainable transport measures.Thinks the South Hereford extension and Enterprise Zone will be a major catalyst for economic renewal.
DRIVERS JONAS DELOITTE, pp The CHURCH COMMISSIONERS have prepared a Masterplan to develop the strategic site at Three Elms, where the land is mainly owned by their clients. There will be 1,090 new homes, a large primary school and other community services. They say the development is not dependent on a Relief Road.
SAVILLS, on behalf of various property clients, would like the number of new homes in the Core Strategy to be restored to the earlier figure of 18,000. They describe plans for the West Leominster Sustainable Urban Extension with a Leominster South Relief Road wholly paid for by developers.
The Inner Western Hereford Relief Road does not get a whole-hearted endorsement from anyone. The stakeholders expressing environmental views each describe their concerns over the threat to the River Wye SAC that the development proposals present. Agents for developers are clear that they cannot increase their contributions for the proposed road or that they do not consider it necessary.
In view of the fact that at full council on 2nd March 2012, it was reported (in answer to public question 5) that the full analysis of the consultation responses received in 2011 will not be published until June 2012, Here for Hereford will undertake their own analysis of the public responses in March. When we have completed this work we will post the results on our website.
