The company began work in July 2010 and the emphasis on sustainable construction has enabled 94.7 per cent of the waste material generated by the project to be diverted away from landfill, with no excavated material taken away from the site. As an integral part of the work, the company has sunk a borehole to provide water for washing down the pens and this will be recycled through a wetland reed bed system being installed at the site under a separate Herefordshire Council contract.

The completed market includes 7,999 m2 of pen enclosures which have different slab finishes to meet the needs of sheep and cattle, and each of which is separately earthed to protect animals from electrical static.

There are also two sales rings with tiered seating, loading docks, weigh bridges, lorry parks, offices as well as café and dining areas as well as two kilometres of security and ecological fencing on the 48 acre site alongside facilities provided for newts, bats and nesting barn owls.

Market design and facilities combine to avoid congestion and offer state of the art unloading, sorting and penning facilities. The first sale at the new market proved the most successful in Hereford for 20 years, with some 5420 sheep and 250 cattle sold.