Unleashing Herefordshire's Future

For too long, Hereford has been held back by a single, congested north–south route through the heart of the city. Daily delays, unreliable journey times and a lack of resilience have affected residents, businesses and visitors alike. A single incident, roadworks or flood can bring the county to a standstill.

The Hereford Bypass is the long‑awaited solution — a transformative infrastructure project that will unblock the city, unlock growth and unleash the full potential of our county for decades to come. It is far more than a road: it is the backbone of a stronger, fairer, greener Herefordshire.

Why we need the bypass

A broken transport bottleneck

The A49 through Hereford is one of England's worst congestion points outside the south east. Peak delays routinely reach 20–40 minutes, and with only one major road bridge over the River Wye, any disruption can sever the whole county.

Congestion that costs us all

Current delays are estimated to cost the local economy millions of pounds a year in lost productivity. Businesses report customers, suppliers and investors are turning away because of journey‑time unreliability.

Growth stalled

Up to 14,000 new homes and 150 hectares of employment land cannot be delivered without the bypass — putting housing need, new jobs and inward investment at risk.

What the bypass will deliver

Unblock Hereford

• Remove through‑traffic from the city centre
• Improve journey times, resilience and reliability
• Enable better public transport, safer streets and cleaner air

Unlock growth

• Enable 14,000 homes including affordable options
• Unlock 150 hectares of employment land
• Create around 10,000 new jobs across the county
• Connect Rotherwas and new enterprise zones directly to the strategic road network

Unleash potential

• A second River Wye crossing for true network resilience
• Support for city‑centre regeneration and the wider masterplan
• Genuine modal shift through active‑travel corridors and bus priority

How it will happen

The bypass will be delivered in two phases:

Phase One – Connecting the A465 to the A49 and directly serving the Rotherwas employment area. Planning permission is secured and construction is scheduled to begin in December 2026.

Phase Two – Completing the route around the city, unlocking major housing and employment land and delivering the full resilience benefits.

Together, these phases will form a new growth corridor for Herefordshire — supporting homes, jobs, regeneration and long‑term prosperity.