info@savebullinghope.co.uk
 

VIEWS OF OTHER GROUPS AND PEOPLE

 

The Dinedor Hill Action Group states:-

 

 We are concerned about the mounting costs of the Rotherwas Road.

 

 When we said the council’s initial costing of £4/5 million was too low and based on professional advice suggested £10m would be nearer the mark we were accused of exaggeration.

 

 The current estimate is now £17.5 million.  When was a civil engineering project completed within budget?

 

 If the Rotherwas road is built and over runs the budget where will the extra money come from?

The obvious answer is the Hereford Council Tax payer, at the cost of projects that would be more worthwhile.

 

 When the council gave its self-planning consent for the road, it was argued that there would be jobs for the less well off in South Wye.

The Developer is to pay £8,000,000 for permission to build at Bullinghope; this money will be recovered in the price of the houses.

The houses on this development will probably cost £300,000 and upwards: Such prices are way beyond local pay rates.

 

An independent Government appointed inspector rejected Bullinghope for housing. He stated:-

“The need for new employment land in Hereford has been grossly exaggerated. I have recommended that allocations at Rotherwas Industrial Estate should be reduced...........In the future the role of Rotherwas will be less important than previously assumed”.  [5-15-7]

 

Moreover, he had firm views about housing development at Bullinghope.

 

“It would be significantly harmful to the rural and appearance of the area....un unwarranted accretion to the south of the city.  I have no hesitation in recommending that the proposed allocation should not be pursued”    [5-14-36]

           

The council is ignoring his decision.

 

In 100 years time will the then Mayor of Hereford be able to look back and praise those responsible in 2007?

With the re-development of the city centre and the cattle market moving, there is a new opportunity to create a centre worthy of Hereford’s distinguished history.

 

Enterprise, initiative and imagination will be required.  Also of course money and it is here that it should be spent, for it will benefit all inhabitants, tourists and visitors alike.

 

Hereford Green Party says:-

 

           The Green Party fully endorses the ‘Save Bullinghope’ campaign. We believe that the position of Councilors who oppose the Bullinghope housing, but support the Rotherwas road, which it is to fund, is both untenable and illogical. Greens believe housing and roads to be inextricably linked.  We also support the position of the Rotherwas-cul-de-sac campaign, which we helped to found.

 

We believe:-

 

 There are much better locations for housing in Hereford where there is better infrastructure (shops, transport etc)

 

 That the housing is only being considered to fund the road and not because it is a good thing in itself

 

 The council have not seriously considered and alternatives that would not include housing.

 

  These include: -

 

a)     As advocated by consultants; building the road route nearer the railway line.  

 

b)    Lowering the road under the railway bridge.

 

c)     Consideration for a rail spur into Rotherwas.

 

d)    Improved cycle routes into Rotherwas (a new cycle and pedestrian bridge linking Rotherwas with Eign Road)

 

 That while industrial estates in at Leominster and Moreton lie half empty the need for growth at Rotherwas has been "hugely exaggerated"; this according to the Inspectors report.

 

Lower Bullingham Parish Council state:-

 

The planning regulations were set originally to make sure the necessary infrastructure and services could be provided for any new development and that new developments would fit reasonably into the local landscape

 

The proposals for this development have been tested by public inquiry and fully discussed over a period.  After careful consideration, the independent inspector rejected the proposals and suggested that the council should stick to its original plan.

 

The stated aim of Hereford Council is that the Bullinghope/Lower Bullingham development would fund the Rotherwas road to create a new access to Rotherwas Industrial Estate.  While the Parish Council supports the relief road it does not consider the granting of housing development purely to fund the road to be wise and would ask the council to look at other ways to fund the shortfall of cash.

 

The railway embankment forms a natural barrier that separates the urban area from the rural area.

 

Breach this barrier and a whole swathe of land will be opened up for development:  It will be difficult to control the extent of development other than within the relief road boundary, which would become the next natural boundary.  Unless permission for development is given in very precise terms, any plans would be challenged in law and we fear that many thousands of houses would eventually end up in this area.

 

If the infrastructure is considered, mainly transport and traffic, it is increasingly obvious that one or two new river crossings are going to be required to couple up the transport system.

 

The current bridge is operating well above its intended capacity and the Belmont roundabout has not improved the traffic situation.  In fact, most peoples say the situation is now worse than it was before with severe overload at peak times.

 

This is before the full impact of the Bradbury lines development, which is still being built.  It should also be remembered that other developments in the recent past have already put another 2,000 houses in South Wye. 

WITH NO IMPROVEMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE AT ALL