Herts county and East Herts district councils at loggerheads over Rye Street path
Herts County Council (HCC) has overruled objections from East Herts Council (EHC), Bishop’s Stortford Civic Federation and more than 100 residents to scrap plans for a new footpath along Rye Street.
HCC determined its own application to remove a planning condition that limited the occupation of Avanti Meadows Primary School at St Michael’s Hurst until a walking route on the northern side of the road was in place.
As part of approval for 35 new homes at the junction of Farnham Road and Rye Street, the developer had to build a toucan crossing on Rye Street and a footpath/cycleway by the time 18 homes were occupied, but the improvements were not delivered.
The county council now argues that the path is not required because “Avanti Meadows Primary School is well connected to new residential areas by new cycle and pedestrian routes and greenways provided as part of the Stortford Fields and St Michael’s Hurst developments.”
East Herts Council disagrees. Although the authority accepts there is a substantial bank of earth where the path should be installed, it argues that the existing footway on the southern side of Rye Street is “inadequate”.
It told HCC: “It is poorly maintained and too narrow (1m or less in width) for the safe passage of pedestrians associated with the school (and generally).
“It is only suitable for one pedestrian and is particularly unsuitable for those with pushchairs, adults with small children walking/cycling/on scooters, or those with impaired mobility.
“These issues result in pedestrians walking extremely close to traffic (including lorries) on a 40mph road, and pedestrians walking in the road to allow other pedestrians to pass.
“This risk will be increased as the population grows and the school gains popularity. It is therefore considered that this path currently poses a significant risk to pedestrian safety and is inadequate for users in its current form.
“The inadequacy of the footpath is encouraging people to drive rather than to walk. This would be exacerbated if no alternative solution is provided.”
EHC was also scathing about the alternative route county advocates across Grange Paddocks Meadow – the old Red, White and Blue field: “This track has no defined pathway, is a longer route and is unpaved, prone to flooding, muddy, unlit and is home to longhorn cows.
“It is not therefore considered to be a safe and suitable route for pedestrians. It is not therefore considered that safe and adequate access to the school is currently provided.”
The district council added that pedestrians and cyclists were climbing down the steep bank in the absence of a path in what was “a significant public safety risk”.
EHC’s objections were shared by the civic federation and many residents, but HCC maintains that now a crossing further north has been installed, the planning condition is unnecessary.
The county council also said it had “a longstanding aspiration” for a “leisure/commuter route” from St Michael’s Hurst, through Grange Paddocks Meadow to Grange Paddocks and Castle Park.
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