Editorial for Bishop's Stortford Citizen w/e 5th July 2002

BISHOPS STORTFORD
TOWN CENTRE REDEVELOPMENT
report by John Gearing FRICS

Plans have been unveiled yet again for a major change to the centre of Bishops Stortford. It has been over 10 years since a property holding company controlled by the Insurance giants Guardian Royal Exchange were first announced in 1989 and later to be aborted due to the economic recession. Now local developers Mantle Estates Ltd and Scowcroft Goddard the two companies that, as Manscow (Jackson Square) Ltd jointly own the Jackson Square Shopping complex and the adjoining sites of Glasscocks and The Causeway Business Centres are to revive plans which if approved are set to alter the emphasis of life in the centre of the Town.

The areas affected include the current multi - storey car park, the Riverside/Adderley Road (Sainsbury) car park as well as the business areas mentioned above. Manscow have submitted an Outline Planning application to East Herts District Council seeking planning permission for a major development which will include the demolition of the existing multi - story car park and the construction of a new 700 space 2 deck car park alongside 13 new shops and a large food store attached to the existing Jackson square complex.

The major change over previous applications is the move towards more residential Units in the shape of 4 and 5 story blocks of flats that will provide about 170 units to be built mostly alongside the River Stort. Whilst this satisfies a demand at the moment due to the buoyant housing market it could mean a change in the way the Town Centre of Bishops Stortford operates. The new scheme provides no new office or employment opportunities and therefore businesses will be discouraged from setting up in the town as it moves towards a more "Domestic" scene.

The Bishops Stortford Chamber of Commerce has generally welcomed the proposal which seeks to breathe new life into a hitherto run-down area of the Town and will provide additional retail and residential capacity to meet perceived future demand.

However there is a note of caution from some corners in that the proposals do not provide any extra office space, there is only a limited number of extra car parking spaces provided and this will give cause for concern if visitors to the Town cannot park more readily than they can at the moment and it would appear that the opportunity to make more of the River Stort as an amenity has not been taken full advantage of.

The application will be decided in due course by East Herts District Council.

© Gearing & Company 2003 - All rights reserved
Designed by Experts Computer Services