Council reaffirms Rotherwas access road can go ahead
Herefordshire Council's cabinet today (25 October 2007) gave the final go-ahead to protect the Rotherwas Ribbon archaeological site for future generations, explore opportunities it might present for tourism and resume full construction of the Rotherwas access road, an essential transport link for the county's key employment site housing 125 companies.
The decision echoed its earlier one of 6 September, which had been 'called in' by councillors for scrutiny on 24 September. Then, the environment scrutiny concluded, after a four-hour discussion, that the original decision was the right one. And so the Rotherwas Ribbon came full circle and back to cabinet for final sign off.
Cabinet heard that the council was making progress with its application for funding from English Heritage to enable further archaeological investigation of the presumed course of the Ribbon. This will help define the extent and nature of the find and allow the council to consider opportunities for tourism, heritage and education. Depending on the results of any further investigation, the council proposes to prepare a conservation plan and determine how public access to the Ribbon could be achieved, evaluating the potential for a permanent visitor centre.
The council had stopped work on the road around the Ribbon site in April this year when it was first discovered. It announced the find to councillors and citizens in May and gave escorted tours of the site to around 1,000 people in July. English Heritage has been involved since the discovery of the Ribbon and its experts have advised that the council's engineering solution, to cover the site with layers of protective membranes and sand, will protect it for future generations. This was essential as leaving the Ribbon exposed to the elements would eventually destroy it. The council covered the site in August to protect it after archaeologists conducted a fingertip clean of the surface to carefully remove deposited silt.
The cabinet had previously considered other options such as abandoning or re-routing the access road to avoid the archaeological find. But this could have cost council taxpayers from £6 million for diverting the road around the Ribbon, up to £110 million for building a tunnel under the archaeological site. However, it decided that the original route was the most efficient way of ensuring the success of the £20-million Rotherwas Futures project to the south of the city of Hereford. Welcomed by business, the project will include a flood alleviation scheme, create new jobs and help Herefordshire's economy to compete.
The cabinet congratulated county archaeologist Dr Keith Ray on the 'universally acknowledged standard and quality of his work on the Ribbon'.
