Proposed Schools' Move to Whittington Way  Map - School Sites   Map - Green Belt 

Mr Kevin Steptoe Head of Development Control East Herts Council Wallfields Pegs Lane Hertford SG13 8EQ

4th December 2008

Your Refs:

3/08/1101/OP 3/08/1102/OP 3/08/1103/OP 3/08/1115/OP 3/08/1116/OP 3/08/1117/OP

APPLICATIONS TO BUILD TWO SCHOOLS AT WHITTINGTON WAY BISHOP'S STORTFORD AND HOUSING ON THE SITES TO BE VACATED AT WARWICK ROAD, BELDAMS LANE, LONDON ROAD AND ON THE RESERVE SITE AT HADHAM ROAD

I understand from Peter Mannings that the applications relating to Whittington Way, Hadham Road and Jobbers Wood have been withdrawn by the applicants and that the special meeting of the Development Control Committee on 9 December has therefore been cancelled.

While the Civic Federation is delighted that this threat to the Green Belt has been removed, we are concerned that the applications to build housing on the existing schools sites at London Road, Warwick Road and Beldams Lane have not been withdrawn. We would not wish to see these applications granted permission by default, simply because the meeting arranged to consider them had been cancelled. If that were to happen the schools would have a continued incentive to move to a combined campus somewhere else, in spite of the cogent objections to this strategy set out in officers’ reports and those made by objectors themselves.

May we therefore have your assurance that these applications will be considered at the earliest opportunity, so that the planning authority can take a formal decision on them which, we trust, will lead to refusal of planning permission.

Yours ...
JOHN RHODES VICE CHAIRMAN