Jean Harris, 79, is fighting Herefordshire Council's plans for a new three-kilometre Southern Link Road that would cut through her Allensmore garden and endanger a historic oak tree. Despite a £45million price tag, she argues the project offers minimal traffic relief while devastating local wildlife and her quality of life. She has refused to negotiate the sale of her land, potentially forcing the council to use compulsory purchase powers.
An elderly widow has refused to sell part of her garden to developers building a £45million road as she fights to save a 500-year-old oak tree.
Jean Harris, 79, is furious that the council is planning to build a new road that would cut through her garden in the village of Allensmore, Herefordshire. The retired school secretary and piano teacher claims that the council-backed project would put a road with a 60mph speed limit just metres away from her bungalow - destroying the surrounding wildlife.
She said: 'It's one seventh of my garden that they want to take, which means this road will come close to my property. All I will hear 24 hours a day is road noise. It'll be an absolute nightmare. It's going to be so close to my home, the road is going to come through the fields and so close to the property.
Lorries or big vehicles will create lots of loud noises, the vibration will be horrible. It will be horrendous. There will be an embankment of the road where the end of garden would be, so it'd effectively be right next to the house.
' The grandmother-of-three said the proposed three kilometre road would do very little to ease traffic in Hereford despite the project costing an eye-watering £45million. She continued: 'It's been called the Southern Link road, but it doesn't do anything to alleviate heavy traffic in Hereford. I feel that it should not be built as a stand-alone scheme. The planning permission for this Southern Link road dates back to 2015.
Since then assessments into environmental harm have been tightened. If this road does go ahead it may not comply with the environmental harm rules.
' But Ms Harris's biggest concern is how the road would affect the local wildlife and ancient oak tree which grows in a neighbouring farmer's field. 'We get lots of bats and owls, there's lots of wildlife around here,' she said. 'It's a key area for all wildlife, and to lose it would be catastrophic.
Then there's the oak tree. It's very old, about 500 years or so, and in perfect condition, why would you want to ruin that? You can see it from the roads and it is definitely a landmark for us around here.
' Ms Harris moved into the three-bed bungalow in 2003 and it is currently valued at £575,000 - but she fears the road will make her home unsellable. 'I did have the house recently valued but it will certainly depreciate, I am quite concerned about that,' she added. Ms Harris has refused to have any discussions about selling her land and has not entered negotiations with Herefordshire Council.
She added: 'I haven't agreed to negotiate so they haven't given me a figure - I refused to negotiate it. I have no plans to sell up and it's just as well because who would want to buy a property right next to a busy bypass?
' But Herefordshire Council could force Ms Harris to give up the land through a compulsory purchase. The fight to save the oak tree and stop the road from being built has become even more personal since her husband Michael passed away. Council bosses hope to start building a single carriageway linking the A465 and A49 south-west of Hereford city centre in December.
The 385 square metre section of land from the garden has an estimated value of more than £58,000. However, Ms Harris is standing firm in her decision not to sell up. She said: 'I know work is due to start in December this year, but I don't know how they can start without owning the land. I haven't agreed or negotiated unless they do an alternate route or decide to drop it.
All it's going to do is save minutes on their journey into Hereford, it's not going to get them there any quicker. It's destruction, it's total destruction really, and for what.
' A Herefordshire Council spokesman said: 'Most landowners have either agreed terms for the sale of their land or are close to reaching an agreement. In one case, discussions were paused by agreement to allow the landowner additional time, and we remain committed to working constructively to reach a voluntary agreement.
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