Herefordshire Council seeks grant to improve bus and cycle lanes

Herefordshire Council hopes to boost sustainable travel in the region with help from the government

Herefordshire Council hopes to improve sustainable transport links in the county using a £44m government grant.

The Levelling up Fund bid outlines plans for a new 20mph speed limit in parts of Hereford, along with bus and cycle lanes.

It also includes new employment land in Ross-on-Wye and heritage improvements in Leominster and Ledbury.

Schemes could be completed by March 2025, the council said.

The proposal, the Local Democracy Reporting Service says, details 20 projects and includes the long-awaited transport hub at the railway station, integrating cycling, walking and buses with rail.

Funding is being requested to create bus priority measures along Blueschool Street and Newmarket Street.

The grant would also allow a cycle scheme to be created from Aylestone Hill along the A465 and Commercial Road, linking the north and east of the county to the transport hub and the rest of the city.

Walking and cycling opportunities in Great Western Way would be improved and expanded to include access across the A49.

'1,250 new jobs'

Just under half of the grant would be used in Ross-on-Wye to develop Ross Enterprise Park and transport links to the rest of the town, in order to address an identified shortage of employment land.

The move is expected to create 1,250 new jobs for the area, and bring output worth £195m over 10 years, the report says.

Leominster's Corn Square would also be revamped and the Old Priory would be turned into office and accommodation space.

Additionally, the plans include town centre improvements as well as landscaping at Ledbury's Masters House and St Katharine's car park.

The full proposals can be viewed here.