Edgar Street - Planned Redevelopment

Planned Redevelopment

The ground was central to the club's financial problems in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In order to cover debts the club secured two loans from property developers - the Bristol Stadium Group and Chelverton. As part of the arrangement, the previous regime of the club handed control of the ground leases to the developers.

With the ground in a prime location in Hereford it was originally believed that the best course of action would be for the club to relocate, and the ground be sold off for commercial development to enable the £1.3 million debt to be repaid. The landowners Herefordshire Council were against demolishing the ground and turning it into a retail development. Subsequently focus switched to keeping the club in its present location and redeveloping the ground to include some form of commercial development, a multiplex cinema being one of the proposals.

By this stage interest on the debt had already been frozen but there remained a repayment deadline of May 2003, which threatened the long-term future of the club who were still struggling financially into 2003. The BS Group had already sold their stake to Chelverton who in turn ran into difficulties meaning that control of the leases was passed to Carillion-Richardson. The pressure on the club to repay the debt has since eased with the developers working with the club to redevelop the ground to include facilities that can generate revenue, which will enable the club to repay the debt.

Herefordshire Council and Advantage West Midlands, the Regional Development Agency formed a company called ESG Herefordshire, and released plans in 2003 detailing redevelopment of 100 acres (0.40 km2) of Hereford city, including the area where the ground is located. In October 2006, ESG Herefordshire appointed Urban Initiatives to revise and develop the masterplan.

The redevelopment of the ground itself is not constrained by the Edgar Street Grid directly, but it remains in limbo until appropriate retailers and businesses can be attracted to the proposed facilities at the ground. As the ESG includes a retail quarter, the club are effectively competing for prospective retailers and businesses - with several choosing to move into the ESG.

At the start of May 2012 the club finally secured their leases of Edgar Street for the next 250 years. This is an important stepping stone for future development of the Stadium and should encourage future investors and developers.