C.C.A. Newsletter Autumn 2016
Chantry Community Association
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Chairman’s Corner
Bishop’s Stortford continues to be the focus of much of the proposed development in East Herts, while many of our facilities have been withdrawn. We hope that CCA residents have taken the opportunity to comment on the various initiatives in the town which we discuss in this newsletter.
We held a well-attended and successful AGM on 11th May, in which we were privileged to welcome Councillor Gary Jones who spoke to us about Old River Lane, the background to the re-purchase of the land by EHDC, some idea of their plans for the future and how we could contribute to this. We would like to thank Councillor Jones for ‘entering the lion’s den’ and for his open and honest assessment of the situation.
For those residents who are happy for us to communicate by email, we are regularly contacting you to alert you to new initiatives and consultations in the town. If you wish to be contacted in this way, please consider sending your details to . We will continue to distribute the newsletter in paper form as most people appear to prefer this format.
We do need new committee members, and remember that this will not necessarily take up a great deal of your time. We especially need some younger committee members! Please contact one of the present committee members if you want to talk this through. We would be very happy for you to come to a meeting as an ‘observer’ before you make any commitment.
Rob Francis
Subscriptions & Newsletters
This is, I am afraid, an annual refrain, but we do try to ensure that the newsletter reaches all the roughly 1,600 households in the Chantry area. To this end the committee all help out by doing one or more rounds in addition to their own. It would be really helpful if there were more members who could spend around 30 mins to 1 hour, usually twice a year, delivering newsletters. Collecting subscriptions is more time consuming but if you could spare time just to deliver that would be a great help to us. I am trying something different in Elm Road and the town end of Barrells Down Road this time. I have deliverers for both roads and have a house in a central position, which is prepared to have subscriptions dropped in to them. I hope members in these roads will use this way of paying their subscriptions and saving a stamp! Subscriptions will remain at £2 (Senior Citizens) and £3 as agreed at the AGM.
Please let me know if you would be able to help:
Susan Haddock
Neighbourhood Plan/District Plan
The final draft of theNeighbourhood Plan for All Saints, South, Central, and part of Thorley has been submitted to EHDC. It is now their responsibility to send the plan to an ‘Examiner’, a professional planning expert, who will check it carefully, assess any further comments made by third parties, and prepare a report. The plan then goes to a referendum; the Examiner will decide the scope of the referendum area.
Meanwhile, EHDC has prepared a new draft of their District Plan and has also published their response to the issues raised during the earlier consultation. The revised chapter on Bishop’s Stortford may be viewed on the District Plan Executive Committee section of the EHDC web site: Agenda details on public web site
The Bishop’s Stortford Civic Federation sent a letter to those EHDC Councillors representing Bishop’s Stortford residents asking them to vote against the draft plan because the plan continues to include a proposal to move the Green Belt boundaries in order to allow development on the area adjacent to Whittington Way (known as Bishop’s Stortford South – BSS). At the meeting on 22nd September, all but one BS Councillor voted against Chapter 5 on BS but it was voted through by other Councillors. There will now be a period of consultation from 3rd November until 15th December 2016, when interested parties may comment on the new draft; if you are interested you should write to EHDC.
Rob Francis
Development of ASRs 1-5
You will all be aware that there is no progress on ASRs 1 and 2; we understand that the dispute relating to the sale price of the land is being taken to arbitration and that this will not take place until early 2017. Meanwhile, there appears to be some movement on ASR5 – see below in ‘Planning Applications’.
Rob Francis
Town Centre Study/Visitor Study
East Herts DC has commissioned a study of Bishop’s Stortford Town Centre in order to help them in the development of two key sites at either end of the town: Old River Lane (which was to be developed by Hendersons) and the Goods Yard (for which there is already a planning application submitted by Solum). The study was carried out by Allies & Morrison (A&M), who consulted with various bodies, including the Bishop’s Stortford Civic Federation. Cllr Gary Jones reports as follows:
‘Allies and Morrison plan to engage with the residents of Stortford from the end of October for six weeks. This will cover proposals for Old River Lane, the Goods Yard including Anchor Street, and the (broader) Mill site. It will include themes about celebrating the river, pedestrian and cycle networks, rationalising vehicle movement, protecting the historic character, a network of green spaces, investing in the high street and quality retail, business and the culture and leisure offer. It sounds both ambitious and exciting and I hope the residents will agree.’
Planning application for the demolition of the Causeway building is due to go to EHDC DMC in November.
Meanwhile, Bishop’s Stortford Town Council has also commissioned a report, this time on ‘Visitor Potential and Vision’ for the town. A consultancy firm called Bowles Green has been carrying out this study, and they consulted with interested parties, including the BSCF. The next step is a workshop which will be held for interested parties on Thursday 20th October from 1.30pm - 3.30pmat the Town Council Offices. Rob Francis will be attending on behalf of BSCF and CCA. Bowles Green will present their interim findings and the purpose of the workshop is to ensure that the views and contribution of all major stakeholders is captured. Following the workshop Bowles Green will be preparing a report and action plan.
Rob Francis
Castle Park Project
East Herts DC and Bishop’s Stortford Town Council, with the support of Countryside Management Services (CMS), have submitted a new bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for the development of Castle Gardens, Sworder’s Field and Waytemore Castle, now known as the ‘Castle Park Project’. CCA has sent a letter of support for this project as it borders on our own patch and we believe it will greatly enhance the leisure opportunities for our residents.
Included in the bid are the following:
- Protection and enhancement of the remnants of Waytemore Castle.
- Enhancement of biodiversity along the River Stort corridor, while reflecting the importance of the river in the town’s culture and heritage.
- Providing a purpose-built community space that can cater for existing users as well as supporting events and providing working space for school groups. A café will provide an additional purpose to the park and allow people to visit the park for a longer duration.
- Provision of a ‘youth space’ which will include new, high-quality equipment and spaces for social gathering.
- Improvement to access to Castle Gardens and Sworder’s Field through a coordinated path network, allowing for easy and logical movement between the different areas of the park.
- The development of Castle Park as a local hub for events.
The bid is at a very early stage and there will be plenty of opportunity for residents to be consulted on the detail of the project.
Rob Francis
Grange Paddocks Development
In an apparently separate initiative from ‘Castle Park’, Grange Paddocks has published a summary of their ideas ( ) for improving the leisure facilities on their site. Consultation ended on 12th September but residents may still want to comment on the web site:
They are planning to have an enclosed younger children's play area and an adjacent but separate area for older children with interactive electronic play equipment. They aim to tender and commission the works in September and to complete installation by the end of December 2016.
Rob Francis
Parking Update
News on EHDC Car Parks
In October, East Herts Council will introduce new pay and display machines in all its car parks. The key benefit of the new machines is that people can pay by credit or debit card including contactless cards and, of course, cash. You will be able to use Apple Pay or Android. Another benefit is that card users can pay for their stay when they're ready to leave.
Motorists will need to remember their car registration number, as it has to be entered into the machine on arrival. (NB:Blue badge holders will be exempt from this requirement and will be able to park as they do now).
Smartcard holders will no longer be able to use their cards once the new machines have been introduced. No Smartcards will be sold after September 1, nor will existing cards be topped up. Between October 1 and November 30, holders can obtain a refund on the unused element of their Smartcard by completing an application form and submitting it to EHDC offices in Hertford or Bishop's Stortford, Monday to Friday, between 8:30am and 5pm.
Application forms are available to download at
Information supplied via EHDC,
Residents Parking Zone B7
Residents have asked about progress with the redesign of the parking bay at the Hadham Road end of Chantry Road, prompted by the resurfacing of Chantry Road and the parking restrictions being re-lined as before. The resurfacing work was carried out by a contractor employed by Herts County Council Highways Authority. HCC would also have arranged for the parking restrictions to be re-lined and their contractor then repainted the lines in the road.
Responsibility for residents parking zones is with the District Council and news of when East Herts will publish a Traffic Regulation Order is still awaited. These things take time but I have been assured by Cllr Gary Jones that a TRO will be made. Residents may be interested to know that earlier this year East Herts recruited a Head of Operations with responsibility for parking among other matters. The recruitment process could have contributed to the delay.
Richard Owen
Bourne Brook Local Community Nature Reserve
The Bishop’s Stortford Natural History Society, through Bob Reed, has proposed that a Local Community Nature Reserve be formed comprising a green corridor following the line of the Bourne Brook, leading from the River Stort area at the (old) Red, White and Blue, crossing the road at Rye Street and connecting with the countryside beyond at Farnham. The nature reserve would include a section of the disused allotment site where it fronts on to the Brook. By creating a Local Nature Reserve on the proposed site this would not only give an opportunity to reverse the loss of habitat locally but also as a means of informing and educating local people and schoolchildren about our special local wildlife resources. CCA has written a letter of support to Bob Reed as we consider this to be an excellent use of this site. Further information may be obtained from your committee members.
Rob Francis
Planning Applications
ASR5 – Development by Countryside Properties on land between Farnham Road/Hazel End Road
EHDC granted planning permission, with conditions, for planning application 3/13/0886/OP - an urban extension comprising 329 new dwellings (of a range of sizes, types and tenures, including affordable housing), including a site for a one-form entry primary school, and public open and amenity space, together with associated landscaping, access, highways (including footpaths and cycleways), parking, drainage (including a foul water pumping station), utilities and service infrastructure works on 1 June 2016.
Details of the application, the Decision Notice and the Officer's Report can be found on the EHDC Planning Portal, You can search by application number 3/13/0886/OP or address. The work will be phased.
Further planning applications, 3/16/1251/REM and 3/16/1252/FUL respectively, were submitted in June 2016 for the layout of the first phase of the internal road network, the landscape buffer planting adjacent to the A120, Hazel End Road and Farnham Road, and the layout and details of landscaping for the new Riverside Park adjacent to Hazel End Road, including internal footpaths, planting plan, visitors car park, attenuation ponds and access road; and to reconfigure the principal access to ASR5 from the junction of Rye Street and Hazel End Road, including revised roundabout design and alterations to Farnham Road, amendments to new junctions with Hazel End Road and Farnham Road. These applications have yet to be decided.
Frances Clapp
Stortford in Bloom/Trimming Vegetation
At our AGM in May we again voted to donate £100 to the Stortford in Bloom project. It was felt that their efforts have always made an extremely attractive addition to the appearance of our town centre. Please feel free to volunteer if you could some spare time to help with their springtime planting. Their Treasurer Mrs Joy Cornell can be contacted on tel. no 01279 655396.
We have had an email via our CCA web site from HCC requesting us to ask our residents to think about overhanging growth around their boundaries and to trim back where needed, especially as the evenings are now becoming darker earlier. Bushes and branches can become a hazard if they have been allowed to spread over the pavement.
Anthea Wyatt
Winter Salt
I can’t believe that it is time to raise this item again but it is an opportunity to remind residents that we can obtain free gritting salt through friendly Councillors. If you are interested, please contact me. I do have five bags left from last year’s mild winter!
Rob Francis ( )
CCA Committee Members
Office / Holder / TelephoneChair / Rob Francis / 655643
Vice Chairman / Anthea Wyatt / 655251
Membership Secretary / Susan Haddock / 652513
Treasurer / Gary Griffiths / 659806
Committee Members / Martin Cole / 461147
Frances Clapp / 506485
Margaret Fitch / 655084
Peter Hough / 868879
Visit our website at
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Visit our website at
Or email us on: