THE owners of the fire damaged buildings in Hereford’s High Town have gone into administration, raising fears a planned restoration project will be further delayed.

The city’s MP says “everyone is rightly fed-up” with the state of the former River Island and Card Factory buildings which were badly affected by one of the city’s worst ever fires in October 2010.

Things had been looking up before Christmas when Herefordshire Council secured an enforcement notice on Omaha Nominees (A) Ltd and Omaha Nominees (B) Ltd, ordering them to stabilise the facade and erect hoardings across the full width of the frontage.

But it has been confirmed this week that the owners have now gone into administration.

“Everyone is rightly fed up about the mess of the River Island building, and the lack of progress in fixing it,” said Jesse Norman, the Conservative MP for Hereford and south Herefordshire.

“It’s been over four years.

“The council was right in trying first to negotiate with the owners.

“But the process dragged on forever, and when it finally failed, they had to issue the statutory improvement notice.

“In response to local concerns, I had also been pressing the agents myself to improve the site.

“The fact that the owners have gone into administration is a disappointment.

“But there may be some benefit, if the administrators Deloitte now comply with the notice, as they have said they will.”

Deloitte told the Hereford Times this week that its partners have already commissioned work including replacing hoardings and improving the site’s temporary access.

But a former cabinet member on Herefordshire Council claims the owners have not always been straight in their dealings with the local authority.

“The council has been continually misled by the owners about the proposals for dealing with the building which has made it go on for more than four years,” said Cllr Brian Wilcox.

“If we’d have known then what we know now it would not have gone on more than four years.”

The enforcement notice also instructed the owners to present a “pictorial representation” of the previously approved redevelopment scheme on the exterior hoarding.

The owner had 80 days to comply with the notice after it came into effect on December 2 of last year.

River Island is now trading on the city’s new Old Market development while Card Factory trades nearby from Gomond Street. Herefordshire Council confirmed on Tuesday that the owners have gone into administration.

“We have only recently received this news but we are still determined to pursue an appropriate course of action which ultimately aims to secure the full refurbishment of the buildings,” the authority said in a statement.

“However, before deciding on how to most effectively respond we need to have proper consideration for the new information about the financial state of the companies.”

Deloitte said the state of the buildings is “unsatisfactory” but has already contacted the council about carrying out improvement work.

“We have already corresponded with Herefordshire Council on these matters and have offered to meet with their officers at their earliest opportunity,”

the firm said.