Meanwhile Elsewhere – A new £30m transport hub has opened in Lincoln.

The scheme includes a bus station, 1,000-space multi-storey car park and improvements to the entrance to the city’s railway station.

The new bus station includes 14 bays that will see approximately 650 departures each weekday.

The area around the hub has been landscaped and also features a new pedestrian plaza linking Sincil Street and High Street to the railway station.

Work started on the development in August 2016.

It received £11m of funding from the Department for Transport and £2m of Greater Lincolnshire Local Economic Partnership funding, with the council borrowing the additional money.

Kate Ellis from City of Lincoln Council said the old transport interchange was “not particularly welcoming”.

“It’s really important as a visitor destination that Lincoln creates a very welcome environment,” she said.

“So now when you arrive by train, whether you arrive by bus, whether you arrive by car, even if you arrive on your bike you should be able to experience a very welcome, high-quality environment.”

Quoted from Lincoln News

Ok, Lincoln is a bigger city and Hereford’s scheme is smaller. But note work started on the Lincoln scheme in 2016 the same time as a start on the new link road. The Lincoln scheme received funding from the DfT and the Lincolnshire LEP. The smaller Hereford hub costs far less but funding from the LEP as part of the new road, nor the DfT was not built into it for the hub. It appears therefore that the hub is considered a separate scheme whose long term justification may well have to stand alone. Hence the delay, prevarication or call it what you like.

Lincoln is important to their council as a visitor destination and as such it is essential that Lincoln creates a very welcome environment by train. Compare that with unwelcome and hostile environment with a safety risk to pedestrians trying to get to/from the railway station across a wide expanse of super highway with very limited crossing facilities.

The views expressed in this news item are those of the author and not necessarily of RBfH