To advise Members of the current position in respect of the Castle Green Regeneration Project

Members were advised on the current position in respect of the Hereford Castle Green Regeneration Project.

The Parks and Countryside Manager informed the Committee of a number of initiatives to regenerate the Castle Green area in light of the decision not to proceed with a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) bid for park restoration.  These initiatives amounted to over £1m and included cleansing the Castle Pool, renovation of the Victoria footbridge, refurbishment of the public toilets and other smaller scale funding bids.

The HLF bid had been withdrawn for a number of reasons, which included:

·         High cost of preparing a bid.

·         A less than 50% chance of a successful outcome.

·         Other corporate priorities.

·         A possibly compromising situation with HLF. Both the Cathedral Close project and Friar Street Heritage Resource and Learning Centre are set to make bids to HLF.

The Parks and Countryside Manager reported that £30,000, which was going to be used to fund feasibility work for the HLF bid, had now been redirected towards minor improvements on the Castle Green including the refurbishment of Nelson’s Column in time for the bicentenary celebrations of the Battle of Trafalgar.

With regard to the cleansing work due to be undertaken at the Castle Pool, the Parks and Countryside Manager highlighted the number of outside agencies consulted and extensive preparation work that had delayed the cleansing project.  After much behind the scenes work he now anticipated the work taking place over a two-week period in autumn 2005.

The Committee was informed that the toilet block refurbishment at the Castle Green was the responsibility of the Highways and Transportation Department.  The block was scheduled to be refurbished during 2006/07.

The Chairman welcomed invitees from Friends of Castle Green, Castle Street and District Residents Association and St. James and Bartonsham Community Association.  He thanked them for accepting his invitation to attend the meeting and gave them the opportunity to present their comments on the Castle Green Regeneration Project to the Committee.

The following are the principal points from the ensuing discussion:

·         The local community should be consulted regarding any redevelopment of the Castle Green area.  The Friends of the Castle Green wanted a 30-year plan to be drawn up between the community and the Council to redevelop the Castle Green.  The Parks and Countryside Manager reported that the Council was keen to work with the local community and that outside consultants had only been used to satisfy the requirements of the HLF.

·         Part of the Hospital Walk footpath had been cleaned and exposed to reveal its original form.  Many years of progressive silt build up from flooding had led to the feature being partially lost from public view.

·         Refurbishment of the Victoria footbridge should be a priority as it is a key pedestrian route connecting the north and south sides of the City.

·         £10,000 to support initiatives in the local area gained by the Council from the developers of the Victoria Park estate had yet to be spent.

A view was expressed that part of the revenue gained from car parking could be used to redevelop the Castle Green.

The Head of Service (Policy and Community) informed the meeting that whilst unfortunately the redevelopment of the Castle Green had had to make way for other Council capital programme priorities at this time, this should did not rule out any significant redevelopment in the future, including the potential for making a HLF bid.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.