Bishop's Stortford -A town facing up to the pressure of development in the wake of Stansted airport

Report by John A Gearing FRICS

With Stansted Airport passenger traffic having reached an all time high of 8 million passengers last year and as the debate gets under way about so called Airport related housing development on the north west sector of the town, Bishop's Stortford will have to come to terms with increased pressure of development as it goes into the year 2002. Already the long awaited Leisure Centre off Anchor Street in the centre of Bishop's Stortford is a resounding success despite local criticism that there is a lack of parking and delivery access. There are two significant office development sites in the Town, one for 20,000 sq ft and another for 8,000 sq ft but both are on hold as the strong demand for in Town residential development is being encouraged by the Town Planners and would appear to give rise to greater site values than commercial uses. Further development is planned for the old Franklins/Glasscocks site in The Causeway, Bishop's Stortford, where Manscow (Jackson Wharf) Ltd, owners of Jackson Square Shopping Centre as well as other shopping centres throughout the country, feel the time is right to submit their proposals for the redevelopment of this important town centre area. All of these applications signify a wind of change for Bishop's Stortford which has been long overdue.

Unfortunately the plan which sets out the guidelines for the development of Bishop's Stortford is well over 10 years old and has not been amended or adapted to deal with the increasing pressures brought about by residential expansion associated with Stansted Airport. The question is how is the centre of Bishop's Stortford going to accept the development of brown field sites and how will this affect the existing infrastructure?

There is a great divergence of opinion on these matters and so concerned is the Bishop's Stortford Chamber of Commerce about outdated guidelines that they have invited a number of local Architects to act as Consultants in monitoring and developing their own thoughts on the way in which Bishop's Stortford should expand. A Sub Committee will look at all planning applications and make appropriate comments and will hope to draft their own proposals for inclusion in the next generation of Structure Plans that will set out planning guidelines for the next 5 to 10 years.

There are feelings of many that live and work in the Town that those who should have been looking ahead to the future have failed to do so. It has been twenty years since the first planning decision was made to create London's Third Airport. In that time little has been done to plan for the future as far as Bishops Stortford is concerned. No new Car Parks, no new Hotels, No new Employment areas no new shopping areas. Understandably there are mixed feelings about the way Bishops Stortford is heading for the future, urgent action is needed now to arrest decline and harness the economic advantages of an International Airport on its doorstep. East Herts District Council is likely to have the final say on the reshaping of the future of the Town.

John Gearing is Sole Principle of Gearing & Company Chartered Surveyors practising in Bishops Stortford and Chairman of the Local Chamber of Commerece. He can be contacted on 01279 758758

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