HEREFORD MASTERPLAN
MOVES INTO TOP GEAR
(To see a copy of the adopted Masterplan, go to our Downloads section - but please be patient, the complete document is around 10MB)
A year ago ESG Herefordshire unveiled its Masterplan for the regeneration of Hereford and invited the public to comment on the proposals for redeveloping 100 acres close to the historic core of the city, including the old livestock market.
Now, after listening to public views, ESG has made several significant changes and the revised Masterplan was unveiled at a public meeting at The Courtyard on Tuesday July 8.
Jonathan Bretherton, chief executive of ESG, said: "The adoption of the Masterplan is a key step as it establishes the template for the overall Hereford regeneration project for the next 15 years, and signals the start of the detailed design and planning stages in readiness for work to start."
He added: "We have all spent years talking about the desperate need to revitalise Hereford as a major shopping and business centre, and now, with the Masterplan formally in place, we can begin to turn words into action. However, ESG and our development partners will continue to consult with the public prior to each phase of the development being submitted for planning consent."
Stanhope, appointed to develop the retail quarter on the old livestock market, will launch public consultation on its proposals towards the end of the year, with a formal planning application likely in March next year.
Meanwhile, ESG and Herefordshire Council will shortly be announcing which affordable housing developer has been chosen to manage the building of 1000 homes, over 300 of them in the affordable category, in the Blackfriars Urban Village, a project gaining national recognition as a new concept in community living.
Before any of this development work can start, four strategic projects must be completed: Relocation of the livestock market; alleviation of Yazor Brook flooding; build a multi-storey car park to serve the eastern city centre; build the new link road and public transport hub. "Having the infrastructure in place is a prerequisite for delivery of the retail quarter or urban village and our timescales have allowed for this," said Jonathan Bretherton.
The key changes to the Masterplan are:
- The capacity of the new link road will be increased by making it dual carriageway at either end. Work is due to start on the one kilometre route linking Commercial Road at the Morrisons junction with the northern end of Edgar Street, in the winter of 2010. The route has been carefully chosen so that no homes are affected, although some businesses will be relocated.
- Concerns about parking facilities in the city centre are being met by the provision of a new multi-storey park either in Gaol Street or on the site of the existing country bus station behind the Odeon cinema. A further multi-storey park is under consideration for the Catherine Street area when redevelopment eventually starts there, to supplement the major new multi-storey park planned for the retail quarter. A review of city wide parking is being undertaken to seek ways of improving the service.
- The creation of a new Public Transport Hub at the rail station, served by the new link road, will play a vital role in helping reduce traffic congestion. All public transport - trains, buses, taxi, car and cycle hire - in one convenient and accessible location. A users group is being set up to help plan the hub. This area will also provide space for further major office development, ideally located close to sustainable transport links.
- A new pedestrian route from the rail station to the city centre has been re-aligned to make it more in keeping with the city lay-out.
- A large site in the Widemarsh area is now allocated to West Mercia Police for a new £35m divisional headquarters, possibly combined with other public emergency services. An important focal point within the Blackfriars Urban Village, bringing workers into the community.
- Flooding which currently affects parts of the redevelopment land will be stopped by diverting flood water in the Yazor Brook direct to the River Wye upstream of Hereford, via a channel to be cut from Credenhill across several fields to the river just downstream of Weir Gardens. The scheme will be of great benefit to the city generally.
- ESG is placing greater emphasis on sustainable, low carbon development, setting even higher targets than currently demanded by Government, and promoting the establishment of a sustainable energy group for the city.
- The draft masterplan envisaged creating a civic quarter in the Catherine Street area, but after listening to public opinion ESG is taking the whole of this area back to the drawing board for a total rethink. One option is to create a mix of niche shops, offices, bars/restaurants and homes, linked closely to the nearby Maylord shopping centre and the rest of High Town, with some public buildings such as a council Info Shop and library. Also in the debate is the future of Franklin Barnes House, which dominates Commercial Square junction.
- The appointment of Ben Hamilton-Baillie, the highly respected street planning expert, to advise on how best to link in the various parts of the redevelopment area with the historic core of the city, is widely accepted as a positive step in achieving a key objective - an extended, integrated and vibrant new city centre as a major shopping and business destination. Solving the problem of the Blueschool Street/New Market Street barrier between the old and the new is the big challenge and his ideas are expected later this year.
- ESG is giving its full support to the campaign to establish a University of Herefordshire, and has identified a potential site for a new campus - the former Boys Grammar School and adjacent buildings and car park previously used as a car garage and showrooms on Blackfriars Street.
- Support and advice is also available to newly promoted Division 1 club, Hereford United, and their aspirations to develop the Edgar Street stadium. Ideas being floated include making land available at the Merton Meadow end to allow the re-alignment of the pitch to make extra space available for commercial development at the Blackfriars end.