Pictures: First look at what new Blackfriars End stand and student homes could be like

An artist's impression shows what the redeveloped Blackfriars End could look like. Picture: Herefordshire Council

The first artist's impressions of what the new Blackfriars End stand and student accommodation could look like have been revealed.

The pictures, sent to Bulls News, show the four-storey accommodation block which it is understood would mainly be for students at Hereford's new university NMITE.

It has a campus just metres away down Blackfriars Street, on the other side of the recently built Premier Inn.

The pictures do not show the stand in any great detail, but it is understood the current thinking is a seated stand which meets FA ground grading requirements.

The view of what the redevelopment could look like from Edgar Street. Picture: Herefordshire Council

The view from Blackfriars Street, near the Merton Meadow car park entrance. Picture: Herefordshire Council

It is also understood that Herefordshire Council, which owns Edgar Street, will give a lease to a developer to build on the land, similar to the arrangement at the Station Approach site. 

While nothing is yet confirmed, the council said the club would have the lease for the football stand, with that end currently not in the agreement. Councillor Pete Stoddart, the Conservative cabinet member for finance and corporate services, said he believed in having a vibrant football club in the middle of the city centre.

Club chairman Chris Ammonds told BBC Hereford and Worcester earlier this month that the council is "very much committed" to the club having a four-sided stadium again.

Pictures show the current state of the Blackfriars End. Picture: Barnsley Marshall/Herefordshire Council

"We're hopeful we will get what we need out of it, we'll come to an agreement with the council," he said.

"It would be fantastic to see four sides back at Edgar Street.

"Clearly the council are leading on it but from the conversations we've had they've had discussions with people who have done this type of thing before. There is going to be that level of expertise here. They've said they are committed to us having input in the whole process once they get to the design phase.

"I'm sure they will be true to their word."

The club have been involved in conversations with Herefordshire Council so far and the aim is for demolition to take place over the summer and the whole project finished for the 2028/29 season.

Current plans are for 103 student rooms, though this could be up to 140 or so if an extra floor is added. There could also be some commercial spaces on the ground floor.

An artist's impression of what the student rooms could look like. Picture: Herefordshire Council

A communal living area inside the student accommodation. Picture: Herefordshire Council

With demolition work pencilled in and a hunt for a contractor underway, temporary hoardings will be built to segregate from the rest of the football ground, but existing emergency vehicle access to the football pitch from Blackfriars Street will be maintained. The water tanks used for the pitch's sprinkler system should also be retained.

Recent pictures also show the extent of the cracked terrace of the Blackfriars End, as well as various walls around the stand. Areas are also overgrown, with other walls leaning.

When the first council report on the project was published a month ago, the stand was described as "dilapidated" and a "significant blight to the regeneration of the northern area of the city". The report also said youngsters often move out of the county for opportunities.

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

It added: "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."

The report, now signed off by the council’s cabinet member for assets councillor Harry Bramer, means £254,000 will be spent on drawing up plans for the Blackfriars Street project and a similar scheme at Hereford College of Arts' College Road campus.

Working with a not-yet-selected development partner, the project will be designed, costs worked out and planning permission applied for.