Shaping Stortford to relaunch after seven months in limbo

A steering group set up to help deliver developments in Bishop's Stortford town centre is to relaunch with a new focus after seven months in limbo.

Shaping Stortford, founded in 2017, is an East Herts Council-led forum that also includes representatives of the town and county councils, Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, Goodsyard project developer Solum, the town's BID (Business Improvement District), Bishop's Stortford Civic Federation (BSCF), the trust that runs South Mill Arts – Bishop's Stortford Museum and Arts Charitable Incorporated Organisation – and a residents reference group.

Its last meeting – they are held every other month – was in July 2021, when Cllr Graham McAndrew, an East Herts district and Herts county councillor for Stortford, was elected chairman. It should have reconvened in September.

A spokeswoman for EHC said: "Following a recent change in the chair of Shaping Stortford and an extended period of officer illness, the group has refocused efforts from delivery towards enabling town centre improvements.

"Discussions have been taking place to ensure the group is best placed to be acting in the interests of Bishop's Stortford residents and businesses. Meetings are due to recommence shortly."

That was news to BSCF chairman Paul Dean, who has been increasingly sceptical about its effectiveness and impact.

He said: "The federation has been concerned about the lack of any meeting of Shaping Stortford steering group since July 2021 for some time now and has been asking when there will be one since October 2021, with no satisfactory answer.

"Before it rejoined Shaping Stortford in August 2019, the federation made the following observation to East Herts Council on the steering group's terms of reference.

"The primary purpose of Shaping Stortford is described as 'to promote and facilitate the delivery of projects and developments in the town centre planning framework', yet as Bishop's Stortford Civic Federation understands it, Shaping Stortford has no executive powers or authority in this respect. Therefore it appears to be a largely consultative and advisory body, even though the terms of reference do not say this. Neither do they say what duty East Herts Council has to consider what it says."

Former Shaping Stortford chair Colin Woodward, who stepped down after he lost his Hertfordshire County Council seat in the local elections in May 2021, said: "It has been an important vehicle for collaboration, with varying degrees of commitment over time, bringing together stakeholders to consider development in the town with a particular platform provided by the extensive public consultation that resulted in the Allies & Morrison, Bishop's Stortford Town Centre Framework in March 2017."

Before the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted progress, he said a lot of work had been done to build the foundations for pedestrianisation of South Street and sustainable travel support, and 20mph speed limits around the town had been highlighted as a priority.

Mr Woodward believes the group still has an important role to fulfil in engaging with stakeholders and residents and helping to deliver "the six key place-making objectives of the Allies & Morrison report". They are:

1. Create a more attractive pedestrian environment by setting out clear plans to reconnect the town to its riverside, reduce traffic dominance and create a sequence of appealing streets and spaces that complement the town's historic character.
2. Promote a holistic parking and movement strategy which balances town centre place-making aspirations with the movement needs of businesses, residents and visitors.
3. Define a framework for the managed growth of retail in the town centre, improving circuits of activity, identifying opportunities to rejuvenate parts of the town centre and balancing larger spaces for national retailers with opportunities for independent shops.
4. Identify opportunities for flexible and adaptable employment space and ensure that existing employment uses in the town make best use of their sites to best support the town's economy.
5. Establish an integrated cultural offer for the town centre that operates successfully in conjunction with the town's restaurants, pubs and cafés.
6. Identify opportunities for residential development in the town centre to support the regeneration of key sites and promote more sustainable living.