A FORMER NHS office building will be transformed into an enterprise hub after plans were approved.

The refurbishment of Isaac Maddox House will form part of the multi-million pound regeneration of Worcester’s Shrub Hill Quarter.

The building, in Shrub Hill Road, 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.

ENTRANCE: An artist's impression of shared space in the refurbished buildingENTRANCE: An artist's impression of shared space in the refurbished building (Image: ADP Architecture)

But it has sat empty since the trust left the premises around five years ago and has fallen into a state of disrepair.

Thanks to a collaboration between city and county councils, Isaac Maddox House and the nearby Garden House will now become an enterprise centre with a mix of offices and commercial units.

Proposals unveiled earlier this year talked of retaining Isaac Maddox Houses’ “industrial deco style” while carrying out repairs, fitting new windows and improving the energy efficiency of the building.

City planners said the scheme will “provide a uniformity to the application site and redress many piecemeal changes made over the years and offer it a crisp appearance which will also be respectful to its original design”.

Funding for the project comes from the government’s Towns Fund.

READ MORE: Plan for regeneration of Isaac Maddox House in Shrub Hill

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

The fund has also helped pay for the new medical school in Hylton Road, the Kepax bridge and £4.5m worth of investments in active travel, including footpaths and cycling routes.

Isaac Maddox House was bought by Worcestershire County Council in 2019 as part of the authority’s acquisition of Shrub Hill Industrial Estate.

The county council is working with Worcester City Council on the regeneration of Shrub Hill Quarter, which aims to deliver thousands of jobs, hundreds of new homes and two hectares of public space over the next 20 years.

A six-week public consultation on the plans was held earlier this year and a planning blueprint - the Shrub Hill Quarter Supplementary Planning Document - is expected to be formally adopted before the end of 2024.