The purpose of this report is to seek approval for spend up to £800,000 of the Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF) grant fund previously awarded by government for the Merton Meadow sites in Hereford. The grant funding will be utilised to masterplan the area including the detailed flood alleviation design required to enable these key city centre sites to come forward for development

That:

a) The Service Director for Economy and Growth, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Economy and Growth, to be given delegated authority to spend up to £800,000 of the Brownfield Land Release Fund Grant to procure and award a contract to complete the masterplanning and detailed design stage of the proposed Merton Meadow development up to the end of RIBA stage 4 including seeking planning approval for the works.

Not to proceed with the release of the grant to be used for the delivery of the flood alleviation works. This option is not recommended as the council will fail to adhere to the terms of the grant (such as spending the grant by the end of 2025) and thus the grant will be retracted, all monies will need to be returned, and the area will continue to be blighted by flooding and thus no development/regeneration of these key strategic sites will be possible.