HEREFORDSHIRE Council has said it will take the views of Ledbury town councillors into account when considering access points to the major new estate to the north of the town.

But there has been no guarantee that the county council will move from its view that one access point, off the Bromyard Road, will be sufficient.

Bloor Homes is seeking outline planning permission for 625 new homes, up to 2.9 hectares of B1 employment land, a canal corridor, and public open space to the north of Ledbury viaduct, in accordance with Herefordshire Council's planning blueprint for the next two decades, the Core Strategy.

Last week, the proposal came before Ledbury town council's economic development and planning committee, where town councillors called for two access points to the estate, not one, over fears of excessive traffic congestion on the Bromyard Road and worries over emergency service access to the proposed new estate.

Speaking afterwards, Cllr Annette Crowe said: "One access point via a mini-roundabout on the Bromyard Road will not cut it. It's not going to work. There needs to be a second access."

Cllr Crowe said that with just a single access off the Bromyard Road there could be "bottlenecks" and she added: "If say a fire engine needs to get there at 5pm, they would have problems today."

She said that some companies based in the industrial estate off the Bromyard Road had staggered leaving times for employees, because of existing traffic congestion on the Bromyard Road, and she added: "Will a small B-road under a small bridge be able to accommodate that amount of extra traffic?"

Town councillors at the meeting called for a second access point under Ledbury viaduct and further traffic studies; but these demands still need to be ratified by full council.

A Herefordshire Council spokesperson said: “The application is currently under consideration and the views of Ledbury Town Council will be taken into account when formally submitted.”