Shirehall ‘preferred option’ for city library

Hereford’s Shirehall has emerged as the “preferred option” to house the city’s new library, Herefordshire Council has confirmed.

Last month the county’s new Conservative cabinet controversially voted to halt the planned new library in the city’s Maylord shopping centre while it reviewed other options.

The current library on Broad Street is being vacated as part of plans to redevelop this building into a new museum and exhibition space. A new temporary library will open on Friars Street from next Tuesday (July 18).

The council has now said that Shirehall and Maylord are “the two locations being more fully considered” in the review.

“The option to locate the library within Shirehall is being recommended as the preferred option as it would revitalise a noted building within the city and support the planned investment in promoting Hereford as a prominent cultural and historic centre,” the council said in a statement.

The council-owned grade II* listed classical building on St Peter’s Square houses two courtrooms and a custody suite as well as the Assembly Hall music venue, but has been largely out of use since June 2020 when part of its roof collapsed.

Last November the previous council administration agreed to pause work on bringing the building back into use due to the cost, then put at £7.5 million.

The library options are set to be discussed at the next cabinet meeting a week on Thursday (July 20), with the final review of candidate sites due to be published beforehand.