Herefordshire Council has agreed to extend the time frame for the Hereford Library Users Group to formulate their proposals for the refurbishment of the library and museum building.

The group has been campaigning for many years for a better library facility for Hereford and proposals include transforming the building into a centre for recreational, public and cultural services.

In December, the council’s Cabinet committed to work with the users group as they come up with future options for the library building, which also houses the Museum and Art Gallery and the Woolhope Club. 

Since then the users group has been engaged in extensive consultation to find out if a major redevelopment is possible and feasible.  This included a public meeting where overwhelming support was expressed for exploring a major improvement scheme to turn the building into a cultural centre for Hereford.

John Faulkner of the Hereford Library Users Group, said: “We have received considerable support for pursuing a significant development of the site and the council has agreed for us to have an extension of time until the end of March, to formulate the proposals in more detail.”

A report on the initial options for the future operation of the museum service, based on a recent independent service review, will be discussed by Cabinet this month. The report is available on the Cabinet agenda webpage.

Work to remove the asbestos is underway by Hereford Asbestos Services and it’s anticipated to be completed later this month.