Between 1945 and 1991 Bishop’s Stortford underwent large-scale development which took it from about 2,500 homes to 11,226 (for details see here). CAUSE consider that it is unfair to expect one town to bear so much of the proposed development for the district .
The
County Structure Plan (Alterations, 1991) defined Bishop’s
Stortford North as land for major new housing development. It
introduced the concept of an Area of Special Restraint (ASR),
citing airport related housing as a major reason. East Herts’
Local Plan Review followed suit, identifying five ASRs (over 200 acres) within the A120
bypass to the North of the town.
Bishop’s Stortford North has since been deleted from the County Structure Plan Review as land for major housing development, because the 1997 Examination in Public found the town to be an unsuitable location for strategic development. Also, it can now be shown that the expected requirement for airport-related housing was based on a gross over-estimate of future airport employees.
Building on the Areas of Special Restraint would constitute unsustainable development, greatly exacerbate traffic congestion in the town centre and on radial roads. CAUSE believes that this area should be redesignated as Green Belt.
However, in the Local Plan proposes retaining the ASRs for development in the future, and the developers persist in their attempts to get permission to begin to build (see Development Proposals). Is it surprising that the people of Bishop’s Stortford are opposed to the town carrying the major burden of housing provision in the District on the basis of the false premise of need for airport related housing?
We must not allow Bishop’s Stortford to be the dumping-ground for large housing developments for the next 20 or 30 years, using the airport as an excuse!
