Old River Lane: Developer Cityheart withdraws controversial scheme for Causeway site – but East Herts Council expects new one to be submitted
East Herts Council has confirmed that its development partner, Cityheart, has withdrawn its much-criticised planning application to develop Old River Lane – and expects a new one to be submitted.
A second application that paves the way for the £80m development – to demolish Water Lane United Reformed Church Hall and the Charringtons House office building – has not been withdrawn.
The move was registered on the council’s planning portal on Wednesday (September 6). A spokesman for EHC said today (Thursday): “We are aware that Cityheart has decided to withdraw their current application for Old River Lane.
"Our planning teams work with developers to achieve the best result for all stakeholders within the constraints imposed by planning legislation, policy and financial viability.
“Positive talks have been held with CityHeart over recent months to ensure that the development plans meet the council’s aspirations for the site, and we expect a new application to be submitted in due course.
"Our top priority remains working together with Cityheart and the wider community to deliver our vision of a high-quality, mixed-use development that is worthy of Bishop’s Stortford.”
The withdrawal came on the eve of a special meeting of Bishop’s Stortford Town Council, set to start at 7.30pm tonight (Thursday), to update members on the controversial £80m scheme. The council’s planning and development committee has previously panned the plans.
Cityheart wanted outline planning permission for new shops, restaurants, offices and up to 225 homes, including 75 extra care units, on the former Causeway car park, along with new public spaces and paths.
Proposals for a £15.5m stand-alone, cinema-led arts centre on the former Charringtons House car park were paused by East Herts Council after the Green Party and Liberal Democrats took control of the authority, ousting the Conservatives, in the May 4 local elections.
Withdrawal of the main application has been welcomed by Hertford and Stortford Labour Party.
Cllr David Jacobs, leader of the Labour group at East Herts Council, said: “We welcome this long-overdue decision by Cityheart given the numerous and substantial objections to the application by many residents in our community.
“We note that the application for the demolition of Charringtons House and the URC Church Hall is still in place at the time of writing, though we look forward to seeing this withdrawn as well.
“This not only represents an opportunity to reset the development but also a chance to put in place the proper consultation processes that are sorely needed before any development can go ahead.
“This is what Labour has been calling for from the beginning and we will continue to campaign for an improved vision for the Old River Lane site that puts the views of our residents at its heart.”
Cllr Jacobs said that Labour members had brought a motion to the full district council in July calling for it not to sign any development agreement with Cityheart and instead open up the project for further scrutiny.
It also called for no work to be carried out at Charringtons House or the URC Church Hall that would prepare the sites for demolition before any decision was made on the existing applications for those sites.
However, Labour’s motion was voted down by the new Green/Lib Dem administration and Conservative councillors.
The Indie has invited the council’s Green, Lib Dem and Tory groups to comment on the withdrawal and has contacted Cityheart for a statement.
The Indie has also asked the town council if tonight’s meeting will proceed in light of the new information.
