The project to turn Hereford’s Shirehall into a new library and learning centre for the city has moved forward with the appointing of a firm to oversee the work.

The neo-Classical building in the city’s St Peter’s Square has lain largely disused since part of its ceiling collapsed in 2020.

But the incoming Conservative administration at Herefordshire Council, which owns the building, decided last year to make the Shirehall rather than the Maylord Orchards shopping centre the home of Hereford’s new library.

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With government funding, this is to be one of the headline Stronger Hereford projects, which also includes the transformation of the city’s former library and museum in Broad Street into a state-of-the-art exhibition space.

Now the council has appointed international consultancy and construction firm Mace to provide “core design and professional support services” to take the project through to the handover stage.

The work to ready the library is proceeding in tandem with the wider task of bringing the grade II* listed building back into full use, also being overseen by Mace.

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It “would not be practical” to separate work on the wider refurbishment from work to “create a suitable shell” for the library, the council’s decision notice said – as it “will ultimately be one building project”.

However the later specialist fit-out design of the library “will be procured separately”, the notice said.

The council’s cabinet member for community assets said in October the new library as expected to open in June 2026.