Many of the original questions submitted to the Full Council meeting of the 19th of November were rejected as being too complex to comply with the rule of ’1 question per resident’. Some were redrafted where we had time. Overall, around half of all of our questions did get in.
The questions as accepted by the Council together with their answers are shown below.
Questions which were rejected due to their complexity are now being resubmitted under Environmental Information Regulations. The questions and the answers are being posted on the EIR/FOI requests page as we receive them.
You can see all of the questions posed by members of the public and by councillors by visiting Herefordshire Council’s webpage for the Council meeting of 19th November.
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Question from Ms A Sancha, Hereford (Question 3)
Could the Council explain what fuels road transport will be powered by in 2020-25 and what will be the relative importance of each?
Answer from Councillor DB Wilcox Cabinet Member Highways & Transportation
We can of course only speculate, but it is likely that transport in 2020-25 will be powered
by a variety of fuels both traditional and alternative including petrol, bio-fuels, electricity,
hydrogen, LPG, and, in the case of cycling and walking, no direct fuel at all.
It is not possible to be certain of the relative importance of each type of fuel as this will
depend on a range of technical, legislative, supply and market factors over the next ten to
fifteen years.
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Question from Mr L Clements, Hereford (Question 4)
Why is the Council sticking to imposed central targets planning targets for house building and retail land requirements.
Answer from Councillor JG Jarvis Cabinet Member Environment & Strategic Housing
The targets were initially set out in the Inspectors’ Panel Report into the Regional Spatial
Strategy published in September 2009 following a very thorough examination of the
evidence at a formal Examination in Public in April, May and June 2009.
These targets were not ‘imposed’ but supported by Herefordshire Council, being securely
based on good evidence and having been tested at the Examination in Public. The
evidence base and the justification for the targets remain, and the Council continues to
promote growth in a planned way as part of the overall strategy which it believes
necessary to both meet local need and secure the future sustainability and vibrancy of the
County.
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Question from Mr R Priestley, Hereford (Question 5)
The term “sustainable economic growth” is used in the LDF without proper definition.
Please define both terms “sustainable economic growth” and “unsustainable economic
growth”.
Answer from Councillor JG Jarvis, Environment & Strategic Housing
A common dictionary definition of “sustainable” is “able to be maintained at a certain rate
or level”. That is the sense used in the draft Local Development Framework (LDF) in this
regard. The term “unsustainable economic growth” is not used in the LDF.
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Question from Ms J Straker, Hereford (Question 6)
Has the Council researched the likely impact on traffic numbers of the inevitable steep rise in fuel prices over the life of the Local Transport Plan Strategy and what are the
conclusions that have been reached?
Answer from Councillor DB Wilcox Cabinet Member Highways & Transportation
The Council has used Department of Transport national trend predictions for transport to
inform the development of the transport strategy. The resulting draft Local Transport Plan
3 places significant emphasis on supporting and encouraging the use of non-car modes
such as public transport, cycling and walking.
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Question from Mr B Widdowson, Kington (Question 7)
Could Herefordshire Council say how much the adoption of the Community Infrastructure Levy to pay for the relief road will add to the average cost of a home being built within this plan?
Answer from Councillor JG Jarvis, Cabinet Member Environment & Strategic Housing
No. The government intends to review the legislation for the Community Infrastructure
Levy and it would therefore be unwise to speculate over developer contributions when the
legal provisions for requiring them are as yet unknown.
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Question from Ms P Mitchell, Hereford (Question 9)
What does the Council’s evidence base (i.e. the ‘Hereford Relief Road – Study of Options’
Report (Aug 2010) referred to in para 4.13) predict for the amount of time saved on the
average trip (please give duration and length of the average trip) with a relief road for the PM peaks in 2026 compared to the 2008 baseline?
Answer from Councillor DB Wilcox Cabinet Member Highways & Transportation
The forecast year of 2026 has been used for all modelling scenarios as this represents the
time horizon of the emerging Local Development Framework. Based on the preferred option for 2026 (planned growth, western relief road and sustainable transport package 2) average journey times, for all forms of transport, will be as follows:-
- Morning (a.m.) peak average journey time will increase by 17.6% compared with 2008
- Afternoon (p.m.) peak average journey time will increase by 18.5% compared with 2008
It is important to note, that these travel times include projected increases in journeys on
foot & cycle, over and above those for car journeys, (ie a modal shift away from motorised
transport) and therefore although indicate an overall increase in journey times, cannot be
taken as an increase in car journey times.
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Question from Mr A Simmonds, Hereford (Question 10)
Can the council provide clear financial detail demonstrating how Herefordshire can afford both the bypass and the other infrastructure required?
Answer from Councillor JG Jarvis Cabinet Member Environment & Strategic Housing
The delivery plan to accompany submission of the LDF will address this question, and will
take account of recent and expected government announcements.
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Question from Mr A Fisher, Hereford (Question 11)
The Vision states that ‘dependency on the private care will be reduced’ (para 2.5) and that a network of cycleways, footpaths and bus priority lanes will reduce residents’ reliance on the private car’ (para 2.4). If this is to be the case then how have the ‘overall costs of travel’ to people travelling on foot by bicycle and public transport been calculated and what weight have these been given in choosing transport and housing options for Hereford?
Answer from Councillor DB Wilcox, Cabinet Member Highways & Transportation
The Council has followed Department of Transport guidance in its modelling work.
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Question from Ms M Burns, Hereford (Question 12)
In its numerous consultations on the Core Strategy (i.e., on issues, vision, objectives, and
developing options) which the Council sites as giving popular support for its Hereford
Outer Distributor/Relief Road, what information were people given about the traffic
reduction effects of a Relief (or Outer Distributor) Road, and alternatives to road building?
Answer from Councillor DB Wilcox Cabinet Member Highways & Transportation
The Council has made evidence available as studies have been completed on the growth
proposals and transport impacts. The studies, currently available on the Council’s website,
include:
- Multi Modal Model Forecast Report, September 2009
- Delivering a Sustainable Transport System Study, May 2010
- Hereford Relief Road Study of Options, August 2010
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Question from Mr S Horsfield, Hereford (Question 13)
Herefordshire needs to shoulder its share of the burden of English population growth.
What modelling has taken place of the economic and social consequences and out comes
bearing in mind population/demographic profile of the county, the decline in employment in the private and public sectors and insufficient transport links?
Answer from Councillor RJ Phillips Leader of the Council
Based on Office for National Statistics projections, Herefordshire has an older age profile
than both the region and England and Wales, with a noticeably higher proportion of its
population in the older age groups. People of state retirement age and over constitute a
quarter (25%) of the county’s population, in comparison with a fifth both regionally and
nationally (20% & 19% respectively). The number of people aged 65+ is forecast to
continue to increase, but more rapidly than in recent years, and is expected to be 61%
higher in 2026 than in 2008. In particular, the number of people aged 85+ is expected to
almost double, from 5,200 in 2008 to 10,200 in 2026.
Conversely, less than a third (31%) of Herefordshire’s population is under 30, compared to
38% both regionally and nationally. There are forecast to be 6% fewer people aged 16-64
living in Herefordshire by 2026 than in 2008.
It is therefore essential that the strategies pursued by the council focus on attracting and
retaining economically active residents, and ensuring necessary infrastructure is in place to support the economic growth needed to ensure the future sustainability and vibrancy of
our community.
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Question from Mr D Straker, Hereford (Question 14)
What evidence does the Council have on whether the single river crossing could be
discouraging car use and what studies have the Council undertaken of the potential for an additional river crossing to encourage increased numbers of car trips?
Answer from Councillor DB Wilcox Cabinet Member Highways & Transportation
I refer the questioner to my answer to Q12.
[See answer to Ms M Burns, above]
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Question from Ms F White, Hereford (Question 16)
Is there a plan or model available for the ‘sustainable communities’ and energy neutral
housing that will be required for these developments?
Answer from Councillor JG Jarvis Environment & Strategic Housing
No. The Council is strongly committed to carbon reduction and these issues will be taken
into account when decisions regarding developments are made.
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