NOT every Ledbury resident believes the giant roundabout on Leadon Way, built to serve the new Hawk Rise estate for which building work has stopped, is an unwelcome addition to the town.

They believe that even if the new estate is not built, because of a successful legal challenge, the large roundabout will still play a useful purpose in preventing accidents along that stretch of the Ledbury bypass.

Many Ledbury residents have long raised concerns about the dangers of the Martins Way junction, where Deer Park exits onto Leadon Way, and now they see the new roundabout at the junction as a welcome piece of traffic regulation or calming.

There have been accidents at the Martins Way junction, before the roundabout was built.

One of the more serious accidents took place in 2008 when a 19-year old male driver died at the junction, after his Ford Fiesta was emerging from Martins Way onto the A438 when it was in collision with a Volvo HGV articulated lorry, travelling to Gloucester.

Posting on the Voice of Ledbury Facebook site, local resident Lisa Young Turner said: "The roundabout has made it safer to come off Deer Park and has slowed the traffic down."

And former mayor, Cllr Debbie Baker said: "I think it's a lot safer and easier for those coming out of the Deer Park Estate. Surely that is a good thing?"

And local resident, Alison Turner said: "Why it wasn’t done earlier is beyond me."

Building work has stopped for Barratt's Hawk Rise estate, opposite the Deer Park estate, because of a successful High Court challenge by Ornua/Meadow Cheese, against Herefordshire Council, which granted permission for a 321 house estate.

Following the judicial review, Herefordshire Council has been asked to re-determine the application, which will requite Barratt to submit further information.

But if the judicial review is to be challenged, it will require an application to the High Court, simply for permission to appeal.

Meanwhile, Barratt has made a partial resubmission for reserved matters permission which is for fewer houses: 247 homes and public open space.

At the Judicial Review, Ornua Ingredients Ltd, the owner of the cheese factory adjacent to the Hawk Rise site, successfully argued that Herefordshire Council was wrong to issue an planning approval of reserved matters without considering Ornua's report about the effects of noise from the factory.

Ornua successfully made the case that factory noise would have an impact the living conditions of the future residents.

A report following the court case states: "That information casted doubt on a conclusion previously reached by Herefordshire Council that it would in principle be possible to produce an acceptable scheme for mitigation of noise emitted by the factory within the parameters of the proposed layout."