The staggering cost of improvements to Widemarsh Street in Hereford has been revealed in documents shared by Herefordshire Council.
Work is expected to commence in the coming weeks, with a troublesome kerb being removed.
Documents shared by Herefordshire Council indicate that despite the fact that Widemarsh Street and its kerbs meet national standards, more than £1.3 million will be spent by Herefordshire Council on removing the kerbs during the improvements.
“The 7 October 2021 Cabinet Member decision identified this scheme as an important project in recognition that although the initial Widemarsh scheme was to recognised national standards, some members of the public continued to have difficulty navigating the street.
“Value for Money – This scheme will be delivered via the Public Realm Contract provider, BBLP, who often use local supply chain partners to deliver works. A number of different providers were approached by BBLP as a part of the estimating process for the scheme. The Project Team and Senior Responsible Officer for the HCCI project are satisfied that BBLP made all attempts to attract alternative tenders for the scheme and that, when viewed in the round that the scheme offers value for money in this instance.
“This scheme is funded as part of the Hereford City Centre Improvements and as such is part Herefordshire Council Capital and part Get Building Fund administered by Marches Local Enterprise Partnership.
“The HCCI decision of 07 October 2021 identified that the elements should be delivered within the overall programme budget.
“On 6 October 2022 a decision was taken to re-profile the HCCI budget.
Total budget – £1,309,586.83
More Details – https://councillors.herefordshire.gov.uk/documents/s50108364/Widemarsh%20St%20Construction%20RoOD%2014.02.23%20FINAL.pdf
