PLANNERS have given the go-ahead for the redevelopment of Hereford's Booth Hall.

The proposals include a replacement frontage and works to create a restaurant and eight letting rooms for hotel use at the 15th-century timber-framed building on East Street.

The new restaurant will occupy the former pub on the ground and first floors of the timber-framed hall.

The first floor will be divided into letting rooms and a commercial kitchen while the second floor will be occupied by five letting rooms.

The polished steel balustrade will be removed from the first floor and the existing floor void will be infilled.

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The external works include repairs to the 15th-century timber frame and replacement of incompatible cement rendered panels with lime-plastered panels painted with a silicate paint.

The cement render on external masonry walls will be replaced with a lime render and the synthetic masonry paint will be removed and replaced with silicate paint.

The proposed works will also see the 20th-century timber canted bay windows on the ground floor replaced with a new frontage.

Commenting on the proposals, Hereford Civic Society chairman Jeremy Milln said: "We are pleased that most of our concerns have been addressed in particular that the ugly metal vents will be removed from the east elevation and that the existing porch will be repaired and retained.

"It is also good that the large and inappropriate glazed areas proposed for the east elevation have been omitted.

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"We note that the idea is now to replace the two modern canted bays with their top hung casements with sashes, and in principle this is acceptable."

Herefordshire Council approved the scheme with conditions.

The Booth Hall closed in August 2017 and has been empty since.

It was bought in 2018 by Elevate Property Group as part of their ongoing work to redevelop buildings damaged by the devastating 2010 fire in High Town.

The Booth Hall lies behind the fire damaged buildings and, before the blaze, there was access to the pub from High Town.

However, the passageway linking the pub to St Peter's Street was shut - which hampered the business when it did reopen, primarily as a live music venue, in 2016.