A MASTERPLAN for a £900 million regeneration of Hereford has been unveiled as the first step in the biggest building project in the city's history.

The public has the next three months to have its say on a multi-million pound project which aims to breathe life into the heart of Hereford.

The plan is to redevelop a 100-acre area, including the city's old livestock market.

The scheme has been put together by ESG Herefordshire Ltd, set up by Herefordshire Council and the regional development agency Advantage West Midlands using urban design experts.

The result aims to blend old and new, contemporary architecture with the historic mediaeval core of the old walled city.

Plans include a retail quarter based on the 12.5-acre livestock market, a civic quarter and 1,000 homes at Blackfriars Urban Village.

A new link road through the development aims to cut traffic on the congested Blueschool and Newmarket Street by up to 50 per cent, transforming it into a tree-lined boulevard.

The retail quarter will contain shops, leisure facilities and new homes and, when it is finished, will contain new town squares' providing open space for arts and culture. Parts of the old Gloucester/Hereford canal will also be reinstated and waterfront homes built.

The project includes the creation of 700 spaces in multi-storey car parks and extra parking for shoppers, taking the number of spaces to 1,500.

The whole area is designed to favour walking, cycling and public transport. The masterplan was unveiled on Tuesday at The Courtyard in Hereford. The project is expected to create hundreds of new jobs.

Copies of the Masterplan, together with a 3D model of the area, will be on display at Penn House, Broad Street, Hereford, opposite the Green Dragon Hotel, for a week from July 23.

Copies will also be available in the council information centres in a series of open evenings.