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BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Hereford bypass scheme can begin in earnest, says finance leader
The long-awaited Hereford bypass scheme can now begin in earnest, a Herefordshire leader has council is due to approve next month what it calls "the procurement route to enable the Hereford Western Bypass to move to it's construction stage".The route will link the A465 and A49 southwest of the city with a second proposed phase across the River Wye and up the west side of the member for finance, councillor Pete Stoddart said diverting traffic out of the city will "let Hereford breathe again" and enable a more diverse transport mix within it. "Currently lorries come up the A465 into Hereford and out to Rotherwas," he said. "This will take 15% of traffic out of the city."Phase two, the bypass "proper" will then be "a growth corridor for employment as well as housing" – the case for which is only strengthened by the government's higher demands on the county to build more new homes, he said."We will meet that demand, but they have to help us provide the road and the infrastructure" – while the developers of all these new homes "will assist us in paying for the road", he to £30m has been earmarked this year alone on phase one with the council previously saying it hoped work would start by dismissed opposition parties' preferred option of an eastern crossing over the Wye as "a road to nowhere", adding: "From Rotherwas, most traffic wants to go north, not east."Councillor Terry James, leader of the Liberal Democrats in the county and supporter of the bypass, said he believed there was "a strong chance the government will fund the first phase", but added: "We have to show we are keen to do it anyway."Hereford Civic Society chairman Jeremy Milln, also a Hereford city councillor, said that aside from the cost, there remained "an awful lot of bureaucratic bridges to cross" before the bypass can the long timescales involved, there was a "lively possibility" that a different administration in the county following elections in 2027 could "rethink" the whole plan, as had previously current Green and Independents for Herefordshire groups were asked for comment. This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
09-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Herefordshire 4.99% council tax rise confirmed
A 4.99% council tax increase, the maximum permitted, has been confirmed for Herefordshire from April. People living in band D households will have their charge increased by £7.80 a month, totalling to £1,969.36 a Council said it expects to spend £231.5m in 2025-26 - £146.5m of which will come from council tax payers. Business rates are expected to bring in £47.5m, with various grants making up the rest, said Councillor Pete Stoddart at a budget meeting on Friday. But he warned the council faced "unfunded pressures" totalling a further £27m in the year ahead, including additional demand on its services, chiefly adult social care, of £13m, and inflationary pressure of £ addition, £2m more is forecast to go on higher pay, with a further £1.5m from the recent increase in employers' national insurance contributions "having a direct impact on the council's pay bill", Stoddart leader Jonathan Lester said the tax rise was "unavoidable", adding: "We are able to fund further investment in roads, maintaining the freeze on parking charges, increase flood resilience, and progress with the project to deliver the Western Bypass, whilst balancing the budget."Councillor Terry James backed the plan, pointing out the government had cut nearly £7m from the Rural Services Grant it previously gave Herefordshire to offset the costs of its rural nature."But we are in a better position than adjoining councils," he final setting of council tax, including "precepts" for local parishes, police and fire services, will be confirmed in March. This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
