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Civic Society ~ Honorary Secretary The Civic Society are looking for someone to take on the post of Secretary for the new year. The post can be as onerous or as light as the individual likes. There is a golden opportunity here for someone who would like to get more involved in local affairs especially the redevelopment of the town centre. If you would like to find out more about this role, please ring Philip Rowley on B/S 506115 or email info@ChantryResidents.org.uk and we will forward your message to the Civic Society committee. |
The CCA is now working closely with the B/S Civic Society. The following article appeared in the Autumn 2004 CCA Newsletter.
Origins
The Bishop’s Stortford Civic Society was set up in 1967 in
response to proposals for demolition of much of the town centre
and its replacement with a shopping precinct, car parks and a
new road system. Saving the Corn Exchange symbolised the early
years of the Society and was successfully achieved.
The Society’s Role Today
Our aim as a Society is to encourage improvement in the built
environment of the town and the quality of life of its inhabitants.
The process of development is often very slow, at least until
the builders move in, so our preoccupations have remained similar
since our origins.
Stansted Airport: The Civic Society supports SSE’s efforts
to cap the growth of the Airport and mitigate the adverse effects,
but we have also made our own representations particularly about
the impact on the town.
Town Planning and Housing: The planning system provides the framework
which defines what development can take place and where. The Society
has supported CAUSE in its campaign to save the ASRs from development
but the local plan covers many more subjects than this and we
have commented at every stage in the process. We comment on planning
applications – sometimes successfully, e.g. the hospital
and Gas College sites.
Transportation: Neither the access roads nor the mediaeval
street pattern in the town centre can cope with all the traffic
that wants to use them, so the only option is to try to manage
demand. The HGV ban, for which we campaigned, has led to a reduction
of over 40% in HGV traffic in the restricted area. EHDC are beginning
to embark on a more rational car parking policy but they need
to do more – park and ride, residents’ parking schemes
and effective enforcement. Their current piecemeal approach simply
shifts the problem from one part of the town to another. And we
would still like to see Potter Street properly pedestrianised.
Civic Award: We run an award scheme to mark the development
which has done most to improve the appearance of the town. It
receives good coverage in the local press, providing a stimulus
to others to improve the quality of their designs.
The Future
There is still much for a Society such as ours to do which cannot
be matched by ‘single issue’ organisations or community
associations which cover defined local areas. On Stansted Airport,
SSE run a very effective campaign, but it is focussed on the growth
proposals. Ours is the largest community affected by the airport
and it is affected by its current operation, for example off-site
parking. So we feel we can usefully make a separate additional
contribution.
The redevelopment of the town centre, unlike the proposals of
the 1960’s has the potential to transform the town for the
better. But the impact will be huge and will affect the whole
community for years to come both during the development and afterwards.
As members of the stakeholders’ forum set up by EHDC we are
in a position to influence the outcome in a positive way.
The town is still at risk of being swamped by further peripheral
housing developments which, if unchecked, will destroy its character.
We are well placed to resist this through using the planning system,
the local press and our MP. Proposals to relocate existing schools
on to green belt land face us with similar issues and we have
already responded.
Conclusion
Why should we have a feature in the CCA newsletter? We can command
the attention of central and local government, but with a wider
range of experience among members and on the Committee, we could
tackle more of the issues which concern us all – litter for
example. We want to refresh our existing skills as well as developing
new ones both by attracting new members and by working more closely
with Community Associations such as yours, so that together we
can influence developments in the town for the benefit of all
of us.
If you would like to find out more about the Civic Society and how to support it, please contact Philip Rowley (B/S 506115) or Angela Marshall (B/S 659960).
See also the HertsDirect directory
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Updated: 20 Apr 2004