Concern over 15 huge Hereford projects as Tories want to pause Maylords plan
Should the Maylords project be changed, Gemma Davies thinks it could put the other projects reliant on the £22.4 million government funding in doubt.
Fifteen ambitious projects to improve Hereford could be thrown into doubt.
The councillor who drove forward plans to create a new library for Hereford in the Maylord shopping centre has expressed dismay at plans to now rethink it.
Gemma Davies, who was an independent councillor up until May’s elections, says if the project is shelved, it could throw the wider Towns Fund bid into doubt.
It comes after the county’s new Conservative cabinet is expected to back an “urgent” motion to consider putting the library and learning resource centre elsewhere in the city, when it sits for the first time next Thursday.
Ms Davies it was “incredibly worrying” that the move “ is coming up so late in the process”, with planning permission for the Maylords proposal already granted and funding committed.
The previous administration’s decision to move the library to Maylords, a key part of its regeneration plans for the city centre, “was not taken lightly” she said. “The council underwent rounds of scrutiny and had a huge amount of feasibility studies completed.”
Herefordshire Council bought the centre for £4 million in June 2020 when it was struggling with the impact of the pandemic, before it became part of the Government-backed, £22-million Stronger Hereford package of improvements to the city. This is overseen by an independent board but with the council taking a lead on the city library and museum projects.
Other schemes including an electric bus zipper service from the railway station to the swimming pool, a new cycle track in Holmer Road and a revamp for the Castle Green pavilion.
Ms Davies said she was “gutted, disappointed and absolutely flabbergasted” and the Conservatives’ motion to pause the project, saying the county’s population will “never forget” if it’s cancelled.
She said the reason why Maylords, formerly home to Sports Direct, TK Maxx and Next before they moved elsewhere in the city, has seen a resurgence is because of her – and her colleagues’ work – in the four years they were in charge.
Should the Maylords project be changed, Gemma Davies thinks it could put the other projects reliant on the £22.4 million government funding in doubt.
A Herefordshire Council spokesperson confirmed: “As part of their 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.”
The new leader of the council Jonathan Lester said he wants to pause the project to consider if a prime spot for shops is the best place for the new library.