More funding for storm repairs in Herefordshire

Over £900,000 has become available to repair damage to Herefordshire’s roads caused by a storm last year.

Storm Dennis in February 2020 left some 65 repair jobs still outstanding across the county.

The funding announcement by cabinet member for transport Coun John Harrington left local councillors eager to put the case for works in their area.

He said the windfall was due to a major project to repair a road on the bank of the river Wye southeast of Hereford being completed for less than one-third of the £1.57 million originally budgeted.

The repair of a retaining wall on the same stretch of the B4224 near Fownhope cost £150,000 more than the anticipated £1 million, leaving £905,000 to be re-allocated to other projects, Coun Harrington said.

The collapsed bank and railings on the public path south of the old Wye Bridge in central Hereford “should be in the top 10” of such projects, ward councillor Kevin Tillett said.

Not only was the damage to the well-used path “very significant”, the temporary barrier installed also “looks ghastly” at a high-profile site next to the bridge, a scheduled ancient monument, he added.

“I shall make sure that is considered when we make the prioritisation with our contractor,” Coun Harrington replied.

Coun Carole Gandy said the bridge at Buckton near Leintwardine has now reopened to traffic, “so now all we need is the road to go with it”.

Coun Peter Jinman said one road in his Golden Valley ward “has gone from being straightforward to fix, to being a major reconstruction project”.

“We can’t wait 18 months to repair some damaged areas because it can double the cost,” he added.

But Coun Harrington warned that issues with the county’s road infrastructure are likely to continue.

“We are a sparsely populated authority and it’s very difficult to maintain our 2,000 roads and 700 bridges with less and less budget every year,” he said.

“We are managing a declining network, that is how our officers and (contractor partner) Balfour Beatty describe it. Something has to give.”