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The challenge - Herefordshire is being held back

The road network is broken and dysfunctional… customers and partners actively try to avoid meetings in HerefordHerefordshire business

Businesses, investors and residents repeatedly name the lack of a bypass as a major barrier to growth, recruitment and quality of life in Hereford. They tell us:

  • Inward investment is being turned away at the door – developers and major employers report that when site searches reach the due-diligence stage, Herefordshire is “off the shortlist” until strategic north–south capacity is resolved. 
  • Lost productivity costing millions annually – major local employers suffer multi‑million‑pound annual costs from delays on the A49, with individual firms reporting up to £2.5 million a year in disruption and inefficiency. 
  • North–South journeys through the city already take up to twice as long as they should – modelling indicates peak-hour delays on the A49, with trips routinely exceeding 20-40 minutes for what should be a 10-15 minute journey. 
  • Hereford relies on a single high‑capacity crossing of the River Wye - Greyfriars Bridge is the only strategic road crossing for the A49 through Hereford, and when it is closed, the official diversion is 38 miles. While the historic Wye Bridge can take some vehicles, its single‑lane layout and limited capacity mean it cannot support the volume or type of traffic that the A49 carries.
  • Freight is being forced through residential streets and the city centre – HGVs serving Rotherwas and the wider county currently have limited alternative routing options, causing noise, pollution and safety risks for pedestrians and cyclists.

Furthermore, central government has increased the indicative housing requirement by an additional 11,160 homes from approximately 16,100 dwellings over a 20-year plan period to 27,260 dwellings over the same timeframe.

Exacerbating these pressures is the ongoing moratorium on new developments in the River Lugg catchment area, introduced to tackle phosphate pollution that threatens the river’s ecology and protected status.

The restrictions cover roughly 40% of the county, and as a result the scope for housebuilding is significantly more limited.

Access to housing also remains a significant challenge, with many people and families in Herefordshire struggling to find suitable and affordable homes.