Herefordshire Council’s former county office in Bath Street, Hereford will be re-developed by Herefordshire Housing to create 75 new apartments, including 28 affordable units, within walking distance of Hereford’s city centre. The sale was officially completed on Monday, April 9th.

Councillor Harry Bramer, Cabinet member for contracts and assets, said: “The sale of the Bath Street site to Herefordshire Housing is a positive step forward in the ongoing re-development of our historic city. The site will be transformed into 75 new apartments, which will not only encourage more people to move to the city, but will also help us to continue meeting our priority of supporting the growth of our economy.

“The sale forms part of the council’s ongoing plan to consolidate its estate and generate annual savings on building costs and maintenance. We need to ensure we’re operating as efficiently as possible and securing value for money in everything we do, including selling buildings which are surplus to requirement. This is especially important in light of the financial challenges we face through ever decreasing funding from central government, which will reduce to zero from 2020.”

Amanda Knowles, development manager at Herefordshire Housing, said: “I’m delighted that the Bath Street sale has officially completed. The 1.88 acre site will enable us to provide 75 high quality homes, a number of which will be affordable housing, all built around one of the city’s most iconic Victorian buildings.

“We were keen to preserve as much of the original building as possible, because even though it’s not listed, it’s an important part of our city’s character and has been since it was constructed in 1877 to answer the city’s desire to support and care for local orphans.”

In order to allow building work to commence, the car park located on the Bath Street site will close to the public from Friday, April 27th. To find your nearest alternative car park, please visit the council car parks webpage.