Bund is set to go

Herefordshire Council has begun works this week to remove an unauthorised 600-metre earth bund containing rubble and waste.

Officials at Hereford City Sports Club built the bund without planning permission in 2005. The club, of Grandstand Road, later submitted two retrospective planning applications, which were rejected by the council's planning department because the construction was out of character with the open expanse of land at the racecourse, and a hindrance to emergency vehicles.

The club appealed but an independent planning inspector branded the bund an 'angular alien feature' and backed the council's decision. After years of trying to persuade the club to comply with planning regulations, the council offered to remove it and charge the club for the work.

Said the council's head of asset management and property services Malcolm MacAskill: "Finally, after actively working with the club to explore every option, the council has been forced to remove the bund itself and we will need to agree a phased repayment from the club for the cost of the work. At the end of the day, we have to uphold the law and because the bund was unauthorised and potentially a hazard, it had to go".