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| Merton Meadow car park, next to Edgar Street, can be prone to flooding. Picture: Your Herefordshire |
Herefordshire Council has had a long-standing plan to build homes next to Hereford's Edgar Street stadium.
First considered for affordable housing in 2013, plans are progressing to get rid of one of the city's biggest - if not the biggest - car park.
With 800 spaces according to Parkopedia, 200 more than over the road at Old Market, the loss of parking could have big effects on the city. Its capacity was cut when the City Link Road was built, with one of the purposes of that project to open up the area to regeneration.
Heather Smith, who co-runs outdoor clothing shop Home and Country Store in nearby Widemarsh Street, told the Hereford Times/Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I don’t know where cars will go. It will kill the town.”
She said other businesses share her concerns but Herefordshire Council said it was going to carry out a car parking review and form a strategy.
The issue is once again at the front of Herefordshire Council's minds. It owns the site and must spend a government grant for the scheme this year and start work on-site by November.
That grant, initially given in 2021, was "great news", according to the city's Conservative MP Jesse Norman at the time.
As Hereford fans will know, the car park is popular, especially on match days, but is susceptible to flooding.
Once flooding concerns were raised, he said he "agreed about the potential flood risk", though that would be Herefordshire Council's issue as the planning authority.
Mr Norman, who is currently Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, said in 2021 that he had seen flooding there first-hand, "having moved sandbags to protect houses in Edgar Street and Newtown Road from flooding".
The £800,000 from government is set to be spent “to masterplan the area including the detailed flood alleviation design”.
The council, currently run by a minority Conservative administration, has also recently awarded a £767,252 contract to Manchester-based Buttress Architects Limited to deliver design and consultancy services for flood alleviation required at key city centre sites, including Merton Meadow.
In a report as Roger Allonby, service director for economy and growth, made the decision, it outlined how the project would "unlock significant growth at a key gateway location, creating opportunities for inter-generational inner city living on currently underutilised land".
It said this would "enable people to live, work in the city centre, spend time and money in local businesses"
It added the project would also address flooding issues, improve biodiversity and unlock the potential for up to 210 new homes.