Rural livelihoods + transport

We do this by:

• listening to what our communities need
• examining and commenting on planning applications
• making sure communities’ voices are heard in national, regional and local consultations
• encouraging and supporting initiatives that help the local economy

Getting around Herefordshire

Herefordshire presents some difficult choices when it comes to transport. We are England’s fourth least densely populated county-level area, with just 88 people per square kilometre (Understanding Herefordshire, 2025). The county has around 2,080 miles of road, but only about 4.7 miles of motorway (the M50), and there are just four railway stations (Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service, 2018 data).

In Hereford itself, it is easier to see how better bus services, safer streets and encouraging people to walk and cycle could work. Well-designed road layouts and pedestrian areas can make the city safer for everyone.

The county’s widely scattered farms, hamlets, small villages and towns present a very different challenge. Rural life in Herefordshire depends on the car. With narrow lanes, hills and long distances, most people do not find cycling or walking a realistic alternative.

More public transport

We want to see rural transport improved so that there is genuine travel choice across Herefordshire and less dependence on the car.

How we travel and plan transport affects both the environment and our quality of life. Transport is the UK’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, producing 30% of domestic emissions in 2024, and cars and taxis account for more than half of that (Department for Transport).

The government’s 2021 bus strategy, Bus Back Better, made little difference to rural areas. The new Bus Services Act 2025, which became law in October 2025, gives councils new powers. They can protect “socially necessary” routes from being cut at short notice, run their own bus companies, and more easily take control of local bus networks. We want to see these powers used to improve bus services in rural Herefordshire. Cheaper fares are helping too. Single bus fares in England are currently capped at £3, and the government has announced that the cap will return to £2 throughout 2027 (LBC, July 2026). But a cheap fare is no help if there is no bus. In many Herefordshire villages, services are infrequent or don’t run at all, which is why better rural routes must come first.

Even the best transport system isn’t much use if it isn’t planned properly, and badly planned transport can cause real damage, especially in the countryside. Rural public transport in Herefordshire is far too limited in areas where people cannot easily walk or cycle to essential services, and where speeding traffic makes the roads dangerous in any case.

CPRE’s vision is for a thriving, sustainable, low carbon countryside. This calls for integration of land use and transport planning as required by the National Planning Policy Framework1 to reduce the impact of travel. Read the CPRE Transport Policy here.

Roads

Rather than easing congestion, new roads can generate more traffic and pollution. CPRE research found that road schemes often lead to more traffic, with new roads damaging landscapes and encouraging car-dependent development (CPRE, The end of the road?, 2017).

We support investing more in public transport that works for the whole community. Very rural communities need different solutions from Hereford city. Roads connect our rural communities, and many people in the county depend on their cars, so we need practical solutions such as community transport, and ways to fund it, that can realistically reduce the number of individual journeys. There is no one-size-fits-all answer. Maintaining the roads we already have matters to everyone who lives and works in the county.

A new way of working

Working patterns in Herefordshire have changed a great deal. Agriculture was once at the heart of most communities and one of the biggest employers. It is still far more important here than nationally, accounting for 6.2% of employees in Herefordshire compared with 0.6% across Great Britain. Health (about 15%), manufacturing (13.6%) and retail (about 11%) are now the county’s largest employers (Understanding Herefordshire, 2021 data).

Since the pandemic, home and hybrid working and video calls have become a normal part of many people’s working lives. This has made fast, reliable broadband essential, but coverage is still patchy in many parts of the county. A government contract to bring gigabit broadband to around 7,900 hard-to-reach premises in west Herefordshire stalled in 2025 and was only taken over by Openreach in April 2026 (ISPreview).

Working closer to home cuts travel and carbon emissions. That’s why we believe planning policy should encourage local working hubs, and make sure new homes, workplaces, schools and shops are within walking or cycling distance of each other.

Conclusion

Herefordshire has an older population than most of England. Some 27% of residents are 65 or over, compared with 19% nationally, while only 30% are aged 16 to 44, compared with 38% nationally (Understanding Herefordshire, 2025). Young people often move away for work and housing, so we want all levels of local government to help keep younger people in rural communities. Supporting local jobs and smaller, affordable starter homes will help.

We hope that new technology and action on the climate emergency will make it easier for people to live and work locally in our rural communities.

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