Two new office buildings planned for Hereford

Plans have been put forward for two new office buildings on the edge of Hereford.

Eastside 2000 Limited is seeking approval for its proposal (number 242475) to build two identical two-storey buildings at the eastern end of the Straight Mile which runs through the Rotherwas industrial zone to the southeast of the city.

The two would lie parallel to the main road but screened from it by the existing hedgerow, within a roughly triangular site bound to the north by the embankment of a former railway.

RELATED NEWS:

• Progress promised on multi-storey car park plan for Hereford
• Fight to keep 20 mobile homes on Herefordshire site
• Plans to start spending on Hereford flood prevention plan

Each building would have a floor area of 765 square metres, with each floor divided into four separate areas of office space, submitted designs show.

The two would use existing access off Fordshill Road, which leads to the Warehouse 701 recycling centre.

There would be 52 parking spaces including disabled and vehicle charging spaces, although the area also has “excellent accessibility on foot and cycle”, the application says.

It dos not reveal who the likely occupants of the buildings will be.

What will be the entrance to the office development. The former railway embankment is to the left. (Image: Google Street View)

A legal instrument known as a local development order enables new commercial and industrial development across the area without the need for full planning permission.

As such, public comments are not being taken on the application.

The order requires new developments to have a travel plan approved showing how alternative means of transport will be promoted, and also a survey of potential contaminants at the site.

Buildings also have to demonstrate they meet minimum standards of energy efficiency.

OTHER NEWS:

• Hereford MP Jesse Norman gives verdict on Boris Johnson's memoir
• Size of Herefordshire's collection of human remains revealed
• Herefordshire's plans to house the homeless revealed

Herefordshire Council highways officer has said there are no issues with the submitted travel plan or proposed parking arrangements, but wanted details on the road “splays” at the site entrance.

And senior landscape officer Nigel Koch said the buildings’ colour was “most important given the importance of the setting and the relationship with their landscape surroundings”, yet was not shown in the plans.

The council expects to decide on the proposal by October 22.