A FIRST World War shell store at Rotherwas in Hereford will be transformed into a business centre in a £7.3m redevelopment.

Work is due to begin in January on the historic building to create more than 2,000 sq metres of employment space.

The derelict building is on Skylon Park and will provide room for new and growing businesses to set up and expand.

The shell store, which is not a listed building, was built in the First World War and used again as an ordnance site during the Second World War.

Chairman of the Hereford Enterprise Zone Andrew Manning Cox said the development of a business incubation and innovation centre is a major milestone for Skylon Park.

He added: “The project will provide employment space for approximately 25 businesses when the centre is fully occupied.

"The intention is that as businesses in the centre grow, they will take larger units as their needs for space and employment requirements increase.

"Eventually businesses will be of a size where they need to move out of the centre, releasing space for the next generation of businesses and creating a ready source of demand for employment units within the zone."

The centre will provide accommodation and support services to new or young enterprises as well as an application and development centre for the new Herefordshire university, NMiTE.

This will create an interface between the new university and businesses as well as providing space for students to develop their practical projects.

Mr Manning Cox said: “And by 2023, it is anticipated that at least 28 businesses will either be located in the incubator or have “graduated” from the centre and have generated around 128 new jobs.

“That figure is expected to rise to approximately 466 by 2031.”

The project will see commercial space created within the existing building footprint, retaining much of the original factory including its steel roof structure.

The project is being funded with £2m from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), a £2.498m interest free loan from the Marches LEP’s Marches Investment Fund and Herefordshire Council will fund the balance of £2.802m. 

Councillor Harry Bramer, Herefordshire Council cabinet member for contracts and assets, said: "This is a tremendously exciting and important scheme to breathe new life back into the shell store, which has played such a significant role in the history of Hereford.

"The new incubation and research centre will provide a home for dynamic and innovative enterprises, driving economic growth in the county through the delivery of more jobs."

The centre is due to be completed in early 2020.