HIGH class residential houses should be built on the land between the Belmont roundabout and the River Wye, says Hereford Civic Trust.

Putting a large superstore there would be a 'disastrous blot' on an important gateway into the city centre, it claimed.

The Trust's executive committee decided unanimously to tell Herefordshire Council it did not support the proposed Asda-Eign Enterprises scheme for a superstore and that high class residential development would not only enable the immediate environment to be enhanced, incorporating amenities appropriate to the riverside site, but add to the attractiveness and vitality of the central area.

In making its decision members of the committee listed their objections to a superstore scheme, including the traffic it would generate, the loss of living standards to the people in the area, the effects on the quality of green space along the river and the problems of flooding.

They described the proposed plans as an ill-considered layout with dismal architecture, unworthy of such a location.