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Saturday, March 02, 2024

Blackfriars End demolition, student homes and new stand – what we know so far

Temporary seating in the Blackfriars End after the terrace was condemned
The dilapidated Blackfriars End at Edgar Street could be demolished in months as Herefordshire Council launches the search for a contractor.

The council, which owns the stadium, is also set to spend more than £250,000 on drawing up plans for student and key worker housing, as well as a new stand for the club's 'basic needs'.

Here's what we know so far:

What's the situation with the Blackfriars End right now?

The Blackfriars End, which was first condemned 15 years ago, is not included in the current lease – which runs to 2030. The club has always been able to use it because as well as the scoreboards, there are services like the water tanks for the pitch behind the stand. 

It is also the vehicular access to the stadium.

The council has also given the club temporary permission to use the land and buildings for "access and welfare purposes" to benefit away fans. There was then a second green light for the club to put up temporary fencing and provide mobile welfare facilities in the area for visiting supporters.

What has been said about demolition?

Chris Ammonds wants Edgar Street to be four-sided once again
On New Year's Day, BBC Hereford and Worcester reported that club chairman Chris Ammonds was hoping for a new lease, one which would be for at least 20 or 25 years.

He also spoke about the Blackfriars End, saying seats would be preferable, but he would be 'easy either way' as long as Edgar Street was a four-sided stadium.

He also said demolition work could start this summer and the club's stadium director Darren Ball had been having conversations with the council.

"The sooner the better and if it's done out of season that would be absolutely perfect. They know that's the time to do it if they are going to do it," he told the broadcaster.

"We will hopefully see movement on that, at least that part of it, come the summer.

"It if drags on beyond the end of the season it doesn't make any difference.

"We might lose a few footballs down holes but apart from that we should be fine."

Now the council is looking for a contractor. 

The buildings to be demolished are the Blackfriars stand, groundsman's store, toilets, United in the Community buildings, part entrance stalls (existing brick boundary wall to be maintained in-situ) and former public toilets.

The contract will be worth around £125,000 and should run from May 20 to August 2.

The club's general manager Jamie Griffiths said former United chairman and manager Graham Turner 'could have the first whack of the sledge hammer'.

What does the council want to build instead?

Latest plans detailed in a council report, revealed by Bulls News earlier this week, would be for student and key worker accommodation on the site. It cited the expected growth of NMITE, the city's new university which has a campus on Blackfriars Street, and also Wye Valley NHS Trust's plans to work with more student medics at Hereford County Hospital.

The council described the stand as "dilapidated" and a "significant blight to the regeneration of the northern area of the city" and said youngsters often move away from the county for opportunities.

A report drawn up for the council before a decision is made said there has been redevelopment in the area around the football stadium - notably the "highly successful" £90 million Old Market Shopping Centre which opened in 2014 and the new university NMITE.

But due to health and safety restrictions, the stand is currently unusable by the club and isn't included in the lease so the council receives no income from the land. Club chair Chris Ammonds has previously said demolition work could start this summer and a seated stand would be preferable.

"The need to improve the appearance of the site has now become clear," the report by director of resources and assurance Andrew Lovegrove said.

The council will also be looking at the College Road campus near the Royal National College for the Blind and wants to find out how suitable and feasible the sites are, work out building costs, get planning permission and draw up a business case.

"It is proposed that the project will replace the current unsafe and unsound stand with a facility that meets the basic needs of Hereford Football Club including the need to have a four-sided ground," it added.

What is the next step?

Cabinet member for community services and assets Cllr Harry Bramer has approved spending of £253,679. The decision is subject to being called-in, which means councillors could scrutinise the move, revisiting it and possibly seeing it changed.

The funding will be used to find and appoint a development partner to take forward plans for the student accommodation at the two sites, advise on future investment models and support in the creation of business cases.

What have plans been before?

Planning permission was granted for a new Blackfriars End in 2010. Picture: ACP Architecture/Herefordshire Council
At the end of last year, the council said it had had good conversations with the football club with "a view to offering a long-term lease in the near future".

As the update turned to the redevelopment of the dilapidated Blackfriars End, the council said it was something it would be "exploring options for" with a view to "increase capacity and help secure the viability of the stadium".

Some 14 years ago, Hereford United were awarded a grant of up to £750,000 by the Football Foundation to help in the rebuilding of the Blackfriars End, closed in 2009.

The Football Stadia Improvement Fund, which supports the Football Foundation, announced the decision after discussions which have been ongoing for some time.

Hereford were awaiting planning permission for the new all-seated, 1,619-capacity stand. There were going to be new floodlights too, but permission was granted on June 23, 2010, the summer David Keyte took over. Plans then never materialised.

Relegation then cut that funding from £750,000 to £450,000, the Hereford Times reported, then Keyte said what initial interest there was has not “moved forward.”

How will it be funded?

The short answer is this hasn't been decided yet, with little information available to the public.

Ammonds previously said how it will be funded is "open to debate".

He said in January: "Clearly funding isn't easy for us at this current stage but hopefully it can all be worked in for the bigger, wider development.That will be part of the conversations we will have with the Council.

"They know our position in terms of the finances available to us at the current time,

"In an ideal world the whole development will be covered in a cost and then over time it will get dealt with and sorted.

"In some ways it's the council's project because at the end of the day we don't have a lease on that area."

The club's finances are an improving picture after funds were down to around £5,000 last year. As for local government, there are ongoing challenges for all councils as they try to handle rising costs.