The need for a new route to Rotherwas, as part of a package of measures to help the Industrial Estate, was recommended in the Rotherwas Integrated Access Study, published in June 2000.
The proposed Rotherwas Access Road was included in Herefordshire’s Local Transport Plan for the period 2001/02 - 2005/06. In January 2001, with funding for much of the Plan approved by the Government, Herefordshire Council confirmed its intention of building the new access road.
The access road will overcome many of the existing constraints on access to Rotherwas Industrial Estate. These include a low bridge, congestion at the Ross Road/Holme Lacy Road junction and flooding. For the communities living around Holme Lacy Road, the new access road will bring welcome relief from the size and volume of traffic which currently passes through the largely residential area.
A Planning Application for the Rotherwas Access Road was submitted on Wednesday 4 September 2002. The design proposed is for a road of 3.3 km (2 miles) running eastwards from the A49 trunk road near the Grafton Inn, crossing below Hoarwithy Road south of Green Crize and entering the Industrial Estate at Gatehouse Road reach to a junction with the Holme Lacy Road. Roundabout junctions will be provided at each end of the new road.
The road will be a single carriageway, 7.3metres wide, with verges varying in width form 3.5 to 8.0 metres. For the most part the road will be constructed in shallow cuttings or on low embankments.
The road will pass through the open countryside but great care has been taken by the Council’s consulting engineers, Halcrow UK, to achieve a design that minimises the visual and environmental impact of the adopted route. The route lies close to the protected line of the former Hereford By-pass but the new road will have less impact on the environment than the previous by-pass proposals.
Extensive environmental studies have been carried out to identify the impact of the proposals on wildlife, archaeology and landscape. These studies have influenced the design now proposed.
The Council has considered in depth the potential for alternative routes but has opted for the chosen design to achieve the greatest reduction in noise for local residents and to avoid further community severance.
Rotherwas Industrial Estate is a key element of the regeneration strategy for both Hereford and the whole County. The development potential of the Estate can only be fully realised by providing a new access road.
It is anticipated that the Planning Application could be considered before the end of the year but several Statutory organisations, including the Highways Agency, will have to be consulted before the application can be decided. Once approved, land will have to be acquired along the route of the road. Construction could start in 2005 with completion by 2007.
Plans of the proposals will be on display in the Town Hall, Hereford from Monday, September 23 to Friday, September 27 between 10am and 5pm. Staff will be available on the first day to provide advice and information.