On behalf of ESG, our Birmingham Planning, Development & Regeneration team was instructed to provide planning support on a £650m regeneration project on the northern edge of Hereford city centre.

Edgar Street Grid (ESG) is an organisation created by Herefordshire Council and Advantage West Midlands (AWM) to deliver the regeneration of the centre of Hereford, in line with an adopted master plan approved by the Council.

Planning consent needed to secure funding

The scheme proposed mixed use development including residential, retail, leisure and employment, as well as improved transport hub focused around the station.

In order to secure funding for the overall proposal, ESG needed planning consent for various developments. These included a Link Road Scheme which would open up the area for regeneration and a Flood Alleviation Scheme that would remove a large portion of the regeneration site from the existing flood plain.

Professional planning input essential to strengthen application

It was imperative that professional planning input was provided to ensure that the planning scheme stood up to scrutiny from the Local Planning Authority, the local community, various statutory bodies and ultimately the Secretary of State.

We provided dedicated planning support working closely with the project team to ensure that all supporting documentation for the submission was in place within a very tight timescale. As a consequence, ESG secured the required AWM funding.

Planning consent lays foundations for regeneration

Both the Flood Alleviation Scheme and Link Road planning application received planning consent, laying the foundations for the regeneration of the area. This then enabled appointed developers to submit retail, residential and employment proposals.

Consequently, the overall scheme will facilitate the regeneration of the centre, fulfilling the Government’s Regional Growth plans, and allowing Hereford to compete with service and retail provision in surrounding city centres.

Compulsory Purchase Order advice provided

We also provided Compulsory Purchase Order work in relation to land assembly for the ESG area. The client benefited from our comprehensive knowledge-base which assisted in moving the project forward efficiently.