To consider: feedback to the HTP Phase 2 consultation, assessment of the shortlist of possible bypass route corridor options, the recommended preferred bypass route corridor, the development of associated walking, cycling, bus and public realm (active travel)improvements and to confirm the scope of the Phase 3 consultation.

The cabinet member infrastructure introduced the item. He highlighted that:

·         the Hereford bypass was a key infrastructure project and a priority in both council and regional transport policies;

·         the Hereford Transport Package would enable delivery of essential future housing and employment;

·         the bypass would provide an alternative route for traffic which currently travelled through the city;

·         significant improvements to the city’s public realm and active travel measures would be delivered alongside the bypass to encourage walking, cycling and use of public transport;

·         the report presented to the meeting set out the response to the consultation on the approved short-list of route corridors for the bypass and technical work which had been completed, culminating in a recommendation that the red route be selected as the preferred route for further development;

·         subject to approval of the recommended route the next phase of work would see more detailed proposals developed and a further round of public consultation;

·         the council continued to engage with relevant Government departments and agencies regarding the funding for the scheme; and

·         the cabinet member and officer team were available to meet with any directly impacted property owners or those close to the route.

The head of infrastructure delivery and the project director from contractors WSP gave a presentation on the phase 2 public consultation and technical work undertaken, and summarised the reasons for the recommendation of the red route as the preferred route for the bypass.

It was noted that:

·         the recommendations from the general scrutiny committee discussion of the draft report were set out in paragraphs 58 to 61 of the report and each recommendation had been accepted;

·         there were a number of technical reports which formed appendices to the report, the hierarchy of these documents was explained and their purpose summarised;

·         a pairwise methodology had been used, which split the bypass corridor into three sections and then further sub-sections before comparing the performance of the shortlisted routes through each sub-section, this was an established approach endorsed by Highways England and other national agencies;

·         the main differences between the performance of the shortlisted routes were environmental and social impacts, the other criteria assessed did not vary much between the shortlisted routes.

Councillor Bramer left the meeting at this point

Views from the General Scrutiny Committee

The chairperson of the general scrutiny committee gave feedback from the committee’s consideration of the draft report. He stated that the committee had discussed the matter very thoroughly and noted that the recommendations made to cabinet had been accepted. The committee had not considered whether there should be a bypass as part of the transport package as this had already been agreed by full council and did not form part of the decision before cabinet in this report. Following its discussions, subject to the recommendations made, the committee felt that it could support the red route as the best performing of the shortlisted routes. The chairperson concluded by thanking members of the general scrutiny committee and all those who had given their time  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6

To undertake pre-decision call in scrutiny of the Cabinet’s proposed decision to select a preferred route for Hereford bypass as part of the Hereford Transport package.

Note:  Please note that the appendices to the Cabinet report as listed below have been published individually as supplements.  They include some very large files that may take some time to download.  The screen may appear blank for a time during this process:

Appendix 1 - Hereford Transport Package Phase 2 Consultation report

Appendix 2 - Hereford Transport Package Stage 2 Scheme Assessment Report

Appendix 3 - Hereford Transport Package Stage 2 Environmental Assessment Report

Appendix 4 - Hereford Transport Package Route Selection Report

Appendix 5 - Hereford Transport Package Preferred Route Report

Appendix 6 - Hereford Transport Package Active Travel Measures Report

Appendix 7 - Hereford Transport Package Equality Impact Assessment

The Committee undertook pre-decision call in scrutiny of the Cabinet’s proposed decision to select a preferred route for Hereford bypass as part of Hereford Transport Package.

The draft report for submission to Cabinet on 27 July was appended to the report.

Councillor PD Price, cabinet member – infrastructure, (CMI) made an opening statement. 

The principal points were:

·        The Hereford bypass was a key infrastructure project that was necessary to drive the economic growth of Hereford and the region. It was recognised as a priority project not only in the council’s Economic Vision, Local Plan Core Strategy (LPCS) and Local Transport Plan (LTP) but also within the Marches Strategic Economic Plan and Midlands Connect regional transport strategy.

·        The Hereford Transport Package would enable the delivery of essential future housing, employment and the new University. It would provide an alternative route for traffic which currently travels through the city reducing the current impact on air quality and noise within the city in particular in relation to homes and schools close to the existing A49 road. The bypass would provide a reliable and resilient route around the city which would have significant regional benefits. It would improve road safety in the city, enable significant improvements to the city’s public realm and encourage healthy lifestyles by helping more people to walk and cycle.

·        The consultation had a total of 4,351 responses. In their response 68% of people said they agreed that the HTP would help to address the transport problems in Hereford and enable growth. 59% believed a bypass should form part of the package of measures and 87% said that they agreed a package should include walking, cycling, bus and public realm measures.

·        Consultants had assessed the environmental, engineering, economic and traffic factors affecting the different routes and prepared detailed reports.  The recommendation was that the red route should be the preferred route for further development.

·        The red route would mean fewer homes were exposed to excessive noise; fewer homes would need to be demolished; a lower impact on Belmont Park and the setting of Belmont Abbey, a lower impact on ancient woodland and important trees and a lower impact on Yazor Brook which would mean a lower cost of mitigation.

·        Subject to cabinet’s decision consultants would carry out further work to develop detailed proposals for the design of the red route which would then be subject to a further public consultation later in the year. The results would inform a future cabinet decision to confirm the bypass scheme and associated package measures in early 2019.

·        Alongside scheme development, the Council continued to engage with relevant Government departments and agencies regarding the funding for the scheme.

The Head of Infrastructure Delivery (HID) presented the draft cabinet report.

A video showing the shortlist of possible bypass routes that had been used during the phase 2 consultation was shown.

The Project Director WSP (PDWSP) then gave a presentation a copy of which is attached to these minutes at Appendix 2.

Local ward members for wards  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14