To seek approval from Cabinet to make a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) and Side Roads Order (SRO) for the acquisition of land and rights required to construct, operate, facilitate and maintain the first phase of the Hereford Western Bypass.

• The proposed Cabinet decision begins the process of acquiring land, aiming first to reach agreements with landowners and their agents through negotiation, to purchase land to pave the way for the Western Bypass – Phase 1 infrastructure project.
• If negotiations are unsuccessful, the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) process approved by Cabinet will serve as a backstop to ensure land acquisition stays on schedule.
• Where individual land parcels are acquired through negotiation, they will be removed from the CPO process.
• It was noted that some land was already owned by Hereford Council, while National Highways and Network Rail have interests in smaller parcels.
• The land to be acquired matches that of a previous CPO process concluded in 2019, but that order has now expired.
• If Cabinet approves the new CPO and Side Roads Order (SRO), the draft statement of reasons will be finalised and served on all relevant parties, along with the orders and recommendations as outlined in the report.

Group Leaders were invited to offer their views:

The Liberal Democrat Group outlined their views and noted that:

• They support the Cabinet’s recommendations regarding land acquisition - they view the measures as prudent precautions, ensuring that if there are any difficulties during negotiations for acquiring land, the council will have the ability to trigger further action to secure the required land.
• The group expresses their support for the recommendations to safeguard the process.

The Green Group outlined their views and noted:

• Significant concerns about the Hereford Western Bypass Phase 1 land acquisition process, criticizing the lack of transparency and detail regarding costs, risks, and the strategic business case.
• Additional concerns that the council is borrowing an additional £30 million, leading to a long-term financial burden for local taxpayers.
• Members do not have clear visibility on likely costs or risks of overspending which in turn is frustrated by the absence of a full strategic business case.
• The lack of clarity within the Compulsory Purchase Order process, biodiversity net gain (BNG) requirements, and up-to-date transport modelling opens the council up to the risk of being in breach of Department for Transport appraisal guidance.
• That the group would be more supportive if there were realistic prospects of the project staying within budget and if information were provided in a timely and transparent manner.

The Independent for Herefordshire Group outlined their views and noted:

• Concerns about the speed of the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) process for the Hereford Western Bypass, warning that rushing could lead to mistakes as happened in 2019.
• A challenge to the claims in the report about the bypass removing significant traffic from the A465/A49 junction, citing personal observations and a self-conducted traffic survey that found little evidence to support these statements.
• A contention around the factual accuracy in the report and questions the validity of claims about road collisions and the availability of supporting data.
• A lack of transparency, noting that some referenced data in the modelling had not been published or made available to councillors or the public. They request  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50