Maylord Shopping Centre is a strategically significant site, with a footprint of 145,000 sq ft in the heart of Hereford’s city centre. Herefordshire Council secured control of the site through a £4.0 million acquisition in June 2020 to enable its redevelopment to support the regeneration and the diversification of the city centre as a whole.
The plan is to relocate the library which will evolve into a resource centre, creation of a new community re-use café and it will host expanded performance space for Powerhouse and a new Digital Culture Hub.
It is estimated that the plans to turn Maylord Shopping Centre into a Library and Learning Resource Centre will cost in the region of £7 million, with £3 million set to come from the towns fund.
This initiative will provide:
• Re-purposed mixed use development at the heart of the city centre, regenerating the city by diversifying reasons to visit and encouraging visitors to spend time and money in Hereford (hosting the Powerhouse and Digital Culture Hub).
• A Learning Resource Centre that includes a new public/higher education library. Located in a prominent city centre location will provide the whole community with a wide range of services to support the development of their skills, advice and support in seeking new career or personal development opportunities.
• A community re-use café that would generate an income to support the Learning Resource Centre and other social value activities. The not-for-profit community enterprise would provide facilities for visitors and students. This could, for example, provide opportunities for young people (such as through the Kickstart scheme) and/or those with learning difficulties to gain work experience working in the café.
You can find out more about the Stronger Hereford Vision by visiting – Hereford’s Town Investment Plan film | #StrongerHereford
An artists impression of what the proposed Library and Learning Resource Centre could look like:
