Herefordshire's Maylord library plan still in play
It was originally meant to be relocated to the city's disused Shirehall, but that's been put on hold.
The option of creating a new city library in Hereford’s Maylord Orchards shopping centre is still in play following pressure from councillors.
Herefordshire Council’s cabinet agreed last month to carry out a review of the £3.5-million plan, which came back with the recommendation to locate the library in the city’s currently disused Shirehall instead.
But this morning (July 20) the cabinet bowed to recommendations from the council’s connected communities scrutiny committee (CCSC) to “pause” the Maylord option rather cancel it outright while a full business case for the Shirehall move is developed – effectively retaining Maylord as a fallback option.
The business case will be presented to cabinet for a final decision in October.
Chair of the CCSC Coun Ellie Chowns, who also leads the nine-strong Green group of councillors, said she hoped this “will address the suitability of the Shirehall in terms of accessibility, energy efficiency, and road safety outside”.
It also needed to address “a concerning lack of clarity” on the cost of bringing the damaged historic building back into use, from a £3.6 million figure cited this week, to a £7.5 million figure given to the previous administration’s cabinet in November.
“And it would be unconscionable for the council to bring this building back into use without decarbonising it to the greatest extent possible,” even if this meant higher initial costs, Coun Chowns added.
Council leader Jonathan Lester said the business case “will take on board” these concerns, adding: “Accessibility will be key.”