- will create more traffic across Greyfriars bridge
- will give the go ahead to a massive expansion of housing and industry in a beautiful section of Herefordshire countryside
- has been rejected by government planning inspectors as poor value for money
- the government refuses to fund
- will destroy Hereford's natural setting - Dinedor Hill - for ever
In going ahead with the road, the Council is taking huge risks with Council tax payers money and it's own financial future
SEE PRESS RELEASE OF 26TH SEPTEMBER
The risks include: -
1. Relying on businesses re-locating to Rotherwas to fund the road. The Council should have learnt from the half- empty Leominster estate. Businesses may not locate to Rotherwas due to a lack of skilled or unskilled labour, traffic congestion (the road does not solve any of the city's problems), and the possibility of better deals elsewhere.
2. Relying on £8m funding from a housing developer which might not be forthcomingwith the 18 months in which it is needed, or even at all. If not, the Council will have to foot the bill.
3. Huge delays on the A49 during road construction prevent businesses relocating and existing businesses leaving or closing. The Council needs to maintain it's income from Rotherwas.
4. A combination of Council and Advantage West Midlands finance of £9.5m, on which the Council will have to pay a return, puts essential services such as the education of our children at serious risk and could precipitate a serious financial crisis.
5. Given the questionable processes the Council has gone through to get this road, including persuading government agency Advantage West Midlands to go against the advice of the government itself, there is the serious risk of a legal challenge.
6. Serious risks during construction of severe congestion, ground water problems, and breakdown in essential services with no contingency plans to deal with them.
The Council identify some risks themselves, including the escalation of costs so common on these type of project. The costs of the road appear to have already risen from £4million to £20 million in the space of 4 years, and that is before construction has even started! How much will the final price be? They mention 'unanticipated delays' resulting in not completing the project in the required 18 months. Merely suggesting 'robust financial management' in order to mitigate this is dangerously inadequate.