HEREFORDSHIRE Council is ready to borrow nearly £15 million to build itself a new headquarters, pushing its overall debt up to more than £130 million.

The council’s cabinet is today (Thursday) expected to agree on the plan, which is pitched as offering big savings over the long term.

As proposed, the project, planned for the former Bulmers offices in Plough Lane, Hereford, would put almost all of the council’s scattered offices onto a single site with NHS Herefordshire moving in too.

But there is no space in the scheme for a purpose-built council chamber, with members still expected to meet at the council’s current Brockington HQ in Hafod Road and Hereford Shirehall.

Other options for the new HQ include the council’s Hereford sites at Bath Street, Gaol Street, Rotherwas and Blackfriars Education Centre, but, according to a report seen by the Hereford Times, these all come with problems that push costs up. The option of keeping the existing accommodation has been ruled out completely.

The council currently leases the Plough Lane site to house a range of services and that lease ends next year. The report says the building could be bought and adapted at a cost estimated at £17 million over three years.

Sums put to cabinet show that some £15 million for the project will have to be found through borrowing, with the rest coming out of the council’s own funds.

That would add to the council’s current overall debt of well over £115 million, and the authority has already spent money on converting Plough Lane for its use under lease.