Published 31/10/2026 By William Turtle-Clark

A major business park development in Ross-on-Wye has been allocated an extra £1.48 million from an existing council budget to keep construction on schedule and unlock up to 600 local jobs.

Herefordshire Council approved the release of the supplementary funding for the Ross Enterprise Park, one of the county’s largest ongoing commercial infrastructure initiatives. The allocation comprises £750,000 for primary construction, £255,000 for specialized design and consultancy support, and £475,000 to cover essential utility connections and related site works.

Situated on council-owned land directly adjacent to the A40 and M50 corridor, the development is entering a critical delivery stage. The current expenditure covers Phase 1 of the scheme, which involves preparing four discrete one-acre plots for commercial adoption. Groundworks include constructing a dedicated access junction off the A40, building internal access roads, laying drainage systems, and routing main utilities to make the land fully build-ready.

Construction commenced on site in February 2026, with Fitzgerald Contractors Ltd appointed as principal contractor. Once fully serviced, the plots will be brought to market for commercial developers and businesses looking to construct customized offices, light industrial workshops, and manufacturing units. Council projections indicate that Phase 1 alone will deliver between 77,000 and 100,000 square feet of high-grade employment floor space, creating or safeguarding between 150 and 600 jobs.

Explaining the cost adjustment, council officers noted that additional funds were necessary due to cumulative inflationary pressures on utility works, revised traffic management protocols, extensive unexpected earthworks, and design revisions required as site operations progressed. Local authority officials emphasized that despite the top-up, the additional allocation remains within the overall expenditure threshold previously authorized for the scheme.

The Ross Enterprise Park forms a core element of the wider Ross-on-Wye Market Town Investment Plan, targeted at addressing a long-standing deficit of employment land across southern Herefordshire. According to local authority briefing papers, demand for strategic commercial space in the area remains high, with several expanding firms warning they would be forced to relocate outside Herefordshire if appropriate expansion space was not brought forward locally.

Council leadership maintained that failing to approve the budget release would have halted phase-one delivery, risking significant project delays and leaving local business demand unmet. Situated with rapid access to the M50, A40, and A49, the hub is intended to serve as a key economic gateway connecting Herefordshire with South Wales, the West Midlands, and the South West.