Old River Lane opponents to hand over protest letters in Bishop's Stortford
A rallying call to Bishop's Stortford residents has been issued by opponents of the Old River Lane (ORL) development plans.
The cross-party working group behind the campaign to get East Herts Council to rethink the project will hand over 200 protest letters on Tuesday (Feb 28) at 1.30pm.
They want "family, friends and neighbours" to join civic and arts groups for a public show of strength at the authority's offices in the town – Charringtons House at the bottom of Bridge Street.
The office block and the United Reformed Church Hall in Water Lane, as well as three houses in Old River Lane, are set to be demolished as part of proposals put forward by the council's development partner, Cityheart.
Its masterplan is for a new public square, pedestrian-friendly streets, 150 new homes, 75 "extra care" dwellings, 1,000 sq m retail space, 3,500 sqm office building and a landmark, £15.5m cinema-led arts centre on the land and what was the Causeway car park.
David Jacobs, ORL Working Group secretary, said that the council's Conservative executive members should pause and rethink the development.
"We would like to invite everyone who supports us on this issue to join us at this event. Please bring your family, friends and neighbours to show councillors the strength of feeling on this issue," he said.
The protest follows a packed public forum at The Bishop's Stortford High School, organised by the working group, where an estimated 250 people backed calls for "a better vision".
Cllr Mione Goldspink, leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition group at EHC, said: "Conservative councillors now have a chance to make up for their failure to attend last week's public meeting. They cannot go on ignoring the people of Bishop's Stortford any longer."
READ ALSO East Herts Council's customer service desk to move to Bishop's Stortford library
