Herefordshire Council is facing calls from a number of people and organisations to stick to the plan to move the Library to Maylord Orchards, with plans already at an advanced stage.
There are concerns that Herefordshire Council’s alternative location for the Library, the Shire Hall, could take several years to progress, and could risk the council losing the funding provided by the Stronger Towns Fund.
With a meeting set to take place this morning to discuss where the Library should be located, former Councillor Gemma Davies raised a question prior to a previous meeting where Herefordshire Council decided to pause plans on moving the library to Maylord Orchards.
The question sent in by Gemma Davies said:
“It is my understanding that the contracts not only for the glass ceiling but also the relocation works to Maylord orchards, in preparation for the relocation of the library have been awarded.
“Please could you confirm all costs already incurred in preparation of the site including surveys, feasibility studies, relocation of previous tenants, communications, planning application costs and other relevant costs; the current and expected costs of delaying any works for this review.
“This should include any potential retendering of the works.
“Please ensure that this are in an accessible format and broken down per cost.”
Herefordshire Council shared the following response to Gemma’s question:
“A contractor is currently on site to undertake maintenance to the roof, but these works are required for the existing operation of the building and not specific to the Library and Learning Resource Centre project.
“The following provides a further breakdown of the headline costs incurred to date as requested. At this stage it is not anticipated works will need to be re-tendered, subject to the outcome of the review.”
The Council confirmed that the costs to date for the project are £558,633.83.
Former Cabinet Member and Councillor for Ledbury North, Elizabeth Harvey, also shared her concerns in a question. Cllr Harvey said:
“The decision report states that: “other Town Investment Plan projects that were originally due to be clustered with the library in Maylord Orchards (Rural Media Digital Culture Hub, Powerhouse and Encore) to create a cultural hub are now locating elsewhere” and cites this as grounds for the review.
“However, the full Strategic Business Case for the Stronger Towns Library and Learning Resource Centre published on the Council’s website and approved by Cabinet in June 2022 makes it clear that changes in the other stronger towns project plans and in the council’s own plans for Maylords have already been fully taken into account.
“Why is the Cabinet Member not recognising these facts, and why are the guiding principles for undertaking the review not being made public at the point the case is being made for the need for the review itself?”
Herefordshire Council provided the following response to Councillor Elizabeth Harvey’s question:
“The cabinet paper cites this as one of a number of reasons for the review, alongside the continued high demand for retail space in the shopping centre.
“The draft City Centre Masterplan has also identified a range of needs for strategically significant sites, and there are now other options for redevelopment compared to when the project to relocate the library to Maylord Orchard was first identified.
“The detailed business case referenced is specific to the Maylord Orchard focussed project rather than considering other options in the city at the time. The strategic intent of the Town Investment Plan approved by government was to create a cultural hub in the city. The review is an opportunity to consider if this can still be achieved.
“Should cabinet support the decision to undertake the review, the scope of the review will be finalised as soon as possible and circulated. The council will also seek the views of key partners as part of the review process.”
Helen Astley also confirmed that Herefordshire Local Government UNISON were concerned by the council’s apparent change of mindset on the Maylord Orchards project.
Helen said:
“Herefordshire Local Government UNISON are extremely concerned about the impact on museum and library users regarding the decision to review the relocation of the library to Maylord Orchards.
“UNISON are very concerned that this is an attempt to return to the conservatives previous plans to outsource museum services and significantly reduce Herefordshire libraries down to the bare minimum.
“Could the cabinet member confirm that they are still committed to the cultural services transformation, including the review of community libraries, as agreed by the previous administration and part of the public consultation?”
Herefordshire Council provided the following response:
“The council continues to be committed to the transformation of cultural services, we will continue to seek views from partners and staff, with both stakeholders will be fully engaged throughout the process.”
Herefordshire Council’s cabinet will today consider proposals to pause the project to relocate Hereford library to Maylord Orchards centre.
This is so there can be a review and assessment of options for its new location.
The move of Hereford library is to allow the building in Broad Street to be redeveloped into an exciting, modern, museum and art gallery. This project is continuing.
However, Herefordshire Council now says that since the plans were first developed in 2020, there have been changes in demand for retail and commercial space, the draft Hereford City Masterplan has identified a wide range of future needs for sites in the city centre, and alternative locations have become available for redevelopment.
Councillor Harry Bramer, cabinet member community services and assets, said:
“As part of plans to develop a strategy for city-wide rejuvenation, the new council administration is considering a review of the options for the relocation of Hereford library.”
You can watch the Herefordshire Council meeting from 10am this morning, via the Council’s YouTube channel.
