At next week’s council Cabinet meeting, members will decide on the procurement route to enable phase one of the bypass to move to its construction stage.

Cabinet members will also consider the plan to acquire land necessary for the project, as well as ensuring value for money for council tax-payers and its successful delivery.

A fully realised Western Growth Corridor will enable the county to develop the infrastructure needed to:

• Improve transport connections and strengthen the resilience of the network – vehicles travelling north to south through the county mostly go through Hereford to cross the river. Creating another road bridge across the River Wye will reduce reliance on Greyfriars Bridge and the A49 through the city, improving journey times and improving resilience of the network.
• Promote better health and wellbeing for our residents – reducing the volume of traffic on roads in the city creates the opportunity to deliver improvements to walking, cycling and public space in the city.
• Improve local air quality and public places – reducing congestion will help improve air quality in the city making it a cleaner more attractive place to visit and spend time.
• Support growth in the county – helping to meet the new target, set by the UK government, of building 27,260 new homes over a 20-year period. Delivering all these new homes is not possible without strengthening our local infrastructure.  Reducing congestion and improving journey times will be a boost to local businesses and improve residents’ access to work, education, training and services.

More information can be found in the Cabinet papers.