THE next seven days may shape the future of Hereford as its people await decisions on three key multimillion-pound schemes.

By this time next week the city can expect to know whether it is likely to get the long-talked-about £55million Asda superstore, a development that has split opinion since it was first mooted three years ago.

The signs for its backers are not good. County planners have recommended refusal, a decision that could have huge ramifications for the future of not only the Causeway Farm site but also the city's ability to finance essential flood defences.

Asda's fate will be decided in the same week that Hereford should also discover whether it has the vital funding for the Rotherwas access road and the City of Living Crafts.

There is concern over both.

Hereford MP Paul Keetch has said funding for the £6million access road to serve businesses on the Rotherwas Industrial Estate can not be guaranteed.

A question mark also hangs over the multimillion-pound facelift for Hereford's High Town, Cathedral Close and Castle Green.

Boldly branded the City of Living Crafts when it was launched two years ago, those close to the project say it may have to be scaled-down or, at worst abandoned altogether.

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