Herefordshire Council has revealed that up to 210 homes could be built on Merton Meadow in Hereford, with £800,000 set to be spent to reduce the flooding risk in the area.
From Herefordshire Council:
“The purpose of this report is to seek approval for spend up to £800,000 of the Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF) grant fund previously awarded by government for the Merton Meadow sites in Hereford.
“The grant funding will be utilised to masterplan the area including the detailed flood alleviation design required to enable these key city centre sites to come forward for development.
The council previously secured a £2 million Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF) to enable the development of the Merton Meadow sites to the north of Hereford City Centre.
The sites are currently used as surface level car parking. The purpose of the grant funding is to;
a. To address the strategic need to regenerate this gateway area of the city.
b. deliver much needed affordable and social housing as defined in the Herefordshire Housing Market Needs Assessment 2021.
c. provide key worker accommodation to support local health and education institutions.
d. address flooding issues, affecting these and surrounding properties.
e. improve biodiversity
f. improve access links between the new railway station transport hub and city centre.
The original grant application stated that the project would unlock up to 210 new dwellings.
The project will also unlock significant growth at a key gateway location, creating opportunities for inter-generational inner city living on currently under utilised land.
This will enable people to live, work in the city centre, spend time and money in local businesses.
To take the proposed development forward, Herefordshire Council need to appoint a technical design team to masterplan this area of the city, and in particular to complete the detailed design of the flood
alleviation scheme required to unlock development.
To be able to produce the designs for the
flood alleviation, there is a need to qualify and quantify the nature of the development across the wider Merton Meadows sites, so that the surface water drainage requirements for these development opportunities, are provided for by the flood alleviation scheme.
You can read the full documents by visiting – http://councillors.herefordshire.gov.uk/documents/s50121501/Merton%20Meadow%20Flood%20Alleviation%20Scheme%20main%20report.pdf
