Hertford and Stortford Constituency Labour Party welcome East Herts District Council’s decision to review all elements of the Old River Lane development, following a cross party campaign calling for a halt to the scheme in Bishop’s Stortford. As part of this campaign, opposition parties have called for East Herts to hold a full public consultation to give residents and businesses in Bishop’s Stortford the opportunity to share their views on the development and for the council to publish a full business case for the project. We take this opportunity to emphasise this call.
While we welcome the Leader of East Herts’ assurances that the council and the Old River Lane Board will continue to question and scrutinise future decisions and recommendations in regards to the scheme, we do not feel that these discussions should be held behind closed doors. They must involve the wider community.
A full public consultation will allow us to establish whether or not the scheme has widespread support in the community and if it meets the needs of the people who will live and work in and around Old River Lane.
We welcome and support plans to invest in the infrastructure of Bishop’s Stortford, however, we are clear that any future vision for Old River Lane must be properly scrutinised, provide real and tangible benefits to the community and be consistent with the vision and priorities set out in the East Herts Corporate Strategic Plan.
Our vision for Old River Lane is for the site to be developed as a community resource. It should include green spaces, making the most of the site’s location next to Castle Gardens and at the historic heart of the town. We would also like the council to investigate whether there is scope for the site to be used for a further education facility for the town, which at the moment has no provision beyond sixth form.
We hope that local councillors will support the call for a full public consultation and that East Herts will give local residents the opportunity to make their voices heard on Old River Lane.
You can find our petition here.
