East Herts approves 8,500 new homes for Harlow and Gilston Garden Town

East Herts Council has granted outline planning permission for the first stage of the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town project, which will see 8,500 new homes built in and around Gilston to the north of Harlow.

The council’s development management committee met during the day on Tuesday 28th February to consider an application for the ‘Gilston Villages’ made by landowner Places for People.

Council officers had recommended approval of the application, which was for six of seven new villages planned for the area.

The application also included provision of 29,000 square metres of employment space, green space including community and country parks and buffer zones between the villages, six primary schools, two secondary schools, healthcare facilities and a leisure centre.

In March last year planning permission was granted for supporting transport infrastructure for the new area. A further application, for a seventh village of another 1,500 homes and in the name of Taylor Wimpey, will be determined separately.

Harlow and Gilston was designated as a Garden Town by the Department for Homes, Communities and Local Government in January 2017 and will comprise new and existing communities in and around Harlow.

In total, 10,000 new homes will be built in the East Herts district as part of the project. The first 3,000 homes are due to be delivered by

2033 with the other 7,000 after that date and possibly up to 2050. East Herts Council leader Linda Haysey said: “The decision taken by councillors today is a significant step towards ensuring our next generation can live and raise families of their own in East Herts. “I understand residents will have concerns about the impact of development on this scale, but with that scale comes the investment needed to provide the new services and facilities that build sustainable communities.”

East Herts consulting on plans to end free on-street parking in Hertford, Ware and Bishop’s Stortford

East Herts Council is considering introducing new charges for on-street parking in Hertford, Ware and Bishop’s Stortford town centres.

A mix of free 30-minute and one hour maximum stay parking bays are currently provided within the town centres.

Under the proposals, that mix would remain but motorists will pay 50p per 30 minutes in Hertford and Bishop’s Stortford and 40p in Ware.

Sessions would be paid for using PayByPhone, with the same online, app or call payment options available as in East Herts car parks.

The council says the aim of the proposals is to improve the management of on-street parking, encourage a turnover of space to reduce congestion, improve traffic flows and provide the right level of parking to support town centres. It says it would also ensure that the user pays for parking services – a key principle of its budget-setting to help bridge its funding gap. The traffic order would apply to parking spaces in Fore Street, Railway Street, St Andrew Street, Mill Bridge, Queens Road, Castle Street and Parliament Square in Hertford; Amwell End, Broadmeads, Station Road, Kibes Lane, Bowling Road, High Street, Baldock Street and Priory Street in Ware; and Newtown Road, Basbow Lane, North Street and Water Lane in

Bishop’s Stortford. A public consultation has opened on the plans and runs until Friday 17th March. You can find the consultation and comment online at eastherts.gov.uk/traffic-orders. Or comments and objections can be sent either by email to parkingconsultation@eastherts.gov.uk or in writing to East Herts Council, Parking Services, Wallfields, Pegs Lane, Hertford SG13 8EQ.

The Liberal Democrats have announced their prospective parliamentary candidate who will fight the Hertford and Stortford seat, currently held by the Conservatives’ Julie Marson, at the next General Election.

Helen Campbell, a Hertfordshire county councillor and a former business journalist, said she was delighted to have been selected to stand, especially in an area where her party was the opposition on the district and county councils, and leading the way in holding the Conservatives to account. She said: “Whether it’s the Old River Lane proposals, the Briggens Estate quarry plans, or concerns over mass house-building without sufficient infrastructure to the north and east of Ware, if I am elected as an MP for Hertford and Stortford local residents will have an MP who fights their corner and is a strong voice here and in Westminster.”

Upgrade to begin on New River path

In Broxbourne works were set to begin last month to upgrade the cycle and walking pathway along the New River from Church Lane in Wormley to the M25 border. The improvements, due to be completed this summer, will allow more residents to walk or cycle around the borough, easing congestion and reducing air pollution. The route will provide links with existing and planned residential and commercial projects, enabling easy access to important locations and job opportunities within the borough, the most notable of which are the Sunset Waltham Cross Studios and the proposed Brookfield development.