Plans to transform a former office building on the Shrub Hill Industrial Estate into a new enterprise hub have been unveiled.

The project is part of a multi-million pound scheme to regenerate Worcester’s Shrub Hill Quarter.

The bid to refurbish Isaac Maddox House is a joint effort between Worcester City Council and Worcestershire County Council, which bought the building as part of its acquisition of the industrial estate in 2019.

Worcester News: REPAIRS: Isaac Maddox House has been empty since the NHS moved out in 2019REPAIRS: Isaac Maddox House has been empty since the NHS moved out in 2019 (Image: Google Maps)

The two councils are working together on the Shrub Hill Masterplan, which aims to deliver thousands of jobs, hundreds of new homes and two hectares of public space over the next 20 years.

Plans submitted this week to the city council, as the planning authority, say Isaac Maddox House and the nearby Garden House would become an enterprise centre made up of a mix of offices and commercial units.

A £10 million business case for the scheme was backed by councillors in 2022 and accounts for the last part of the almost £20m in Towns Fund money given to Worcester by the government.

Those funds have also helped pay for the new medical school in Hylton Road, a £4.5m active travel plan and a contribution towards the Kepax bridge. 

Worcester News: Issac Maddox House (B), the Garden House (A), Vulcan Iron Works (C) and Unit 16 (D) form the Lower Yard development area in Shrub HillIssac Maddox House (B), the Garden House (A), Vulcan Iron Works (C) and Unit 16 (D) form the Lower Yard development area in Shrub Hill (Image: Worcestershire County Council)

Isaac Maddox House was built in 1937-38 as office space for Heenan & Froude’s Engineering Works and was more recently used by Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust.

But it has now been empty for a number of years and is described as being in a state of disrepair.

Planning documents say Isaac Maddox House is “an exciting and important project in the long term regeneration plans for Shrub Hill to introduce a vibrant mix of enterprise, start-up, creative, commercial spaces within the building which will act as a catalyst and ‘market maker’ for establishing and developing the emerging vision of Shrub Hill”.

According to the plans, a new public space will be created in the Lower Yard development area, which is surrounded by Shrub Hill Road, Cromwell Street and the canal.

Developers also want to make the most of so-called “heritage assets” including Vulcan Iron Works and to build a new bridge over the canal.