East Herts Council signs Old River Lane development agreement with Cityheart
East Herts Council has signed an agreement for its development partner Cityheart to begin work on the Old River Lane (ORL) project.
The local authority has previously said it expected the contract to signal submission of a new planning application to transform the former Causeway car park site into a retail, restaurant and residential quarter with office space.
Cityheart withdrew its December 2022 planning applications in September 2023 and the council’s proposals for a £15.5m arts centre on the former Charringtons House car park site remain on hold.
Instead, the Green and Liberal Democrat coalition has consulted residents on a £1.5m substitute scheme for a public square and temporary pavilion, which will also be delivered by Cityheart.
The company was picked as the council’s development partner by the former Conservative administration in 2019.
The scheme has proved controversial, with entrenched opposition to demolition of the United Reformed Church Hall in Water Lane. The venue has now been removed from the site’s footprint and will be retained by the council, which will commission a full structural survey of the building before deciding on its future. The Charringtons building is still set to be razed.
Under the terms of the contract, which was signed on Tuesday (November 5), it is understood Cityheart will take on leasehold ownership of the site for development.
Despite concerns from some councillors about transparency, the council has previously said details of the development agreement are commercially sensitive and cannot be shared.
Since 2017, the council has spent more than £4m on the ORL project. Opposition calls for it to be scrapped were rejected because the impact would “overwhelm” the council’s finances.
Before the development agreement could be signed, the council was obliged to check the land’s value.
However, Cityheart is expected to pay £2.8m for a 200-year lease on its share of the Old River Lane site – the residual land value – because when the contract was awarded, the gross development value was estimated at £72.99m and the gross development cost was around £70.22m.
As a safeguard, if the developer makes more than 10% profit on the scheme, this will be shared equally with the council.
Liberal Democrat councillors Mione Goldspink, deputy leader of EHC, Miriam Swainston, leader of the town council, and Sarah Copley, who sits on both councils, released a joint statement in their capacity as members of the Old River Lane Delivery Board.
They said: “This is a significant milestone in the transformation of the old Causeway car park into a vibrant new area with a town square to be used for public events, which everyone can enjoy and of which we can all be very proud. This is an exciting time.
“Cityheart will now begin the master planning for the site and members of the public will be able to contribute. Full details will soon be available on the council’s website.”
