I was amazed to read in last week’s edition of Hereford Times that the new administration at Shire Hall is seriously considering cancelling the Hereford bypass.

This road is desperately needed at several levels. Firstly on grounds of congestion and pollution; three weeks ago a minor traffic accident near the Pizza Hut roundabout not only closed a major A road but also resulted in gridlock across half the city.

The Greens’ argument that a bypass would increase pollution is a lot of nonsense! What causes most pollution - the emissions of traffic stop/starting at traffic light and roundabouts through the city or those of free-flowing traffic on a bypass? Surely our Green councillors should be supporting the bypass.

The second issue is that of employment. Herefordshire is a low wage economy as efforts to attract more businesses to the county have been frustrated by the lack of infrastructure.

Most of the county is distant from a motorway but the bypass and the southern link road would go some way towards addressing that problem. As the council has the objective of raising the average wage from below the national average, they should see improved transport links as part of this strategy.

The third issue and the one that will impact most widely on the rural areas is that of housing. The bypass will provide the infrastructure for significant housing development, infrastructure that the county could not afford without the substantial Government Grant towards the bypass. Without the bypass this housing would have to be redistributed across the county.

Those parishes that have struggled to complete their NPD (Neighbourhood Development Plan) are likely to be told to go back again and find sites for many more houses. Will those Councillors who vote to scrap the bypass return to their parish councils and local communities and explain to them why they are to have still more unwanted development forced upon them?

The final issue is that of finance. Some have argued that the cost would be better spent on other transport projects. However, although some cost has fallen upon the Council most of the money for this project is Government money specifically for the bypass. No bypass – no Government money, so no funds for other pie-in-the-sky schemes such as light railways!

Any business person struggling with transporting their goods and services, a low wage worker hoping for better things, a Hereford city resident fed up with fumes, a village dweller concerned that the nature of their community will be changed by over-development, they need to contact their County Councillor now.

Terry Moore

Leominster