Published 10/9/2026 By William Turtle-Clark

Herefordshire Council is facing mounting pressure from local residents and campaigners over the environmental impact and traffic consequences of the first phase of the proposed Hereford bypass.

Work on the £45 million road scheme, linking the A465 and A49 southwest of the city, is scheduled to begin by the end of the year. However, the local authority has drawn around 40 public objections regarding its application to forgo a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for 26 enabling work sites along the route.

Campaigners, including representative Liz Morawiecka and Hereford Civic Society Chair Jeremy Milln, have raised concerns over the handling of the consultation process. They point to proximity to local watercourses, ancient woodland, and red-listed species, alongside emissions and noise from construction transport, as key grounds requiring a formal environmental assessment. Six weeks after submission, the council’s planning decision on the EIA screening remains pending.

Simultaneously, rural residents west of Hereford have formed the Madley and Bridge Sollers Traffic Action Group (MABSTAG) to oppose potential traffic diversion onto narrow local roads.

Under the original 2016 planning consent for the scheme, a weight restriction banning heavy goods vehicles must be introduced on Belmont Road once the new link road is operational. Local residents express concern that lorries and cross-county traffic travelling along the A438 will use Bridge Sollers Road, which features the only River Wye crossing west of Hereford, as an unrestricted alternative route.

MABSTAG has launched a petition requesting rigorous traffic monitoring and pre-agreed mitigations, such as a 7.5-tonne weight limit or a prohibition on through-traffic on Bridge Sollers Road.

In response, a spokesperson for Herefordshire Council stated that the local authority does not currently have evidence that increased lorry traffic on the C1098 Bridge Sollers Road will result from the project. The spokesperson added that potential traffic effects will depend on the exact weight restriction assigned to Belmont Road, which has yet to be finalised.