A Victorian railway arch in Ross-on-Wye will be demolished in order to allow a development of 32 houses.Herefordshire Council's Planning Committee agreed to put the need for affordable housing in Ross above the social and historic value of the stone arch, and give permission for the development which will entail the demolition of the arch.

The new Ward Councillor, Louis Stark said: I don’t want to lose the arch but I don’t want to lose the benefits of the development.'These benefits include donations to Ross Sports Centre and Ross Rugby Club, an onsite children's playground, contributions to road safety measures and to the Wye Valley NHS Trust.Councillor Yolande Watson asked for further conditions to be added to the application if permission was granted. She requested that the stone from the arch should be incorporated into a landscape feature of the development and also that a digital record be kept of the arch before it is demolished to preserve a record of this historical building.Councillor Terry James said that the applicants, a charity, would be using any money they made from the development into providing more low cost homes for rent for people who cannot afford to purchase or rent even 'affordable' homes. He said: "We should put the value of individuals who need to be housed above a stone wall."The possibility of using other access points to the site was also dismissed as the land already houses an electricity substation, does not belong to the owner of the development site and there is a huge difference in the levels of the sites which would involve huge investment and fewer houses.The application was given permission with the addition of the extra conditions.