Town councillors turn litter-pickers to tidy up Bishop’s Stortford station eyesore
Bishop’s Stortford town councillors took direct action to clean up the Goodsyard area around Bishop’s Stortford railway station.
Solum – a partnership between Network Rail and Kier Construction – is building more than 700 homes, a hotel, shops, other commercial space and car parks as part of a £200m project.
So far, apartments and a multi-storey have been completed and last August a new Co-operative store opened.
As construction has progressed, the area – including a new road through the site – has been strewn with rubbish.
Cllr Stephen Skinner, the town council’s deputy leader, said: “The town council, the BID (Business Improvement District) and members of the public are very concerned about the amount of litter opposite the station.
“The council is working with the [East Herts] district council, Solum, the Co-op and Greater Anglia to improve matters.”
In the meantime, he and Liberal Democrat colleagues Martin Adams, Calvin Horner and Murray White took matters into their own hands with a litter-picking session on Monday (January 13).
Madeleine Lees, joint BID manager, said: “We are extremely concerned by the ongoing state of the new Goodsyard development at this important gateway to the town.
“The lack of rubbish bins and the resulting waste piled up and littering the pavements, including food and broken glass, are of particular concern.
“The BID and town councillors are working to identify those responsible for waste management within the conditions of planning consent granted.
“In the short term, we are supporting the Co-op to improve the general upkeep in whatever ways we can.
“Town councillors have completed a litter pick. While this is not a long-term solution, it does highlight the Goodsyard as an important area of focus in the town, and we thank them for their efforts.
“To attract businesses to this new retail area, a permanent solution to waste management must be promptly identified.”
Former mayor Janice Elliott is just one resident who has protested about the rubbish. She wrote to the current mayor, Cllr Richard Townsend, to set out her concerns.
“As you are probably aware, the image of Bishop’s Stortford from the railway station is one of flooding, rubbish, weeds, supermarket trolleys, traffic cones, railings, commercial bins and 1,000 rats.”
She called for a raft of measures to make the area less of an eyesore, including an East Herts Council litter bin near the bus stop outside the new Co-op.
A spokesperson for Network Rail said: “We are aware of the litter problems at Bishop’s Stortford station and are working with our partners, including Greater Anglia, Solum and Bellway, to rectify these problems.
“We recognise that the current site management arrangements are not working as they should be and we are taking steps to change this. We hope that residents and rail users will start to see noticeable changes over the coming weeks.”
The Indie has asked East Herts Council what action it is taking.