Cllr Tony Jackson
East Herts Council
Wallfields
Peg Lane
Hertford
|
5 February 2007 |
BISHOP’S STORTFORD SCHOOLS RELOCATION
I am writing on behalf of the Bishop's Stortford Civic Federation about the proposed
relocation of two of our secondary schools to a Green Belt site in Whittington Way.
The Federation brings together the Civic Society and all the active community and
residents’ associations in the town into a partnership which represents over 6000
households.
The Chair of Governors of one of the schools has said that the sponsors of the proposal
intend to submit an outline planning application early in the new year and so I
suppose that we must expect that EHDC will receive one soon.
There is no disagreement that Bishop’s Stortford needs additional secondary school
places. However, so far, neither the LEA nor the schools’ governing bodies have
made any attempt to discuss with parents of current or prospective pupils or with
the wider community the best way of satisfying this requirement. It is at least
open to argument that providing a majority of secondary school places on a single
site on the edge of town is undesirable in social and educational terms – the sponsors
are contemplating a 3000 pupil campus.
However, the proposal only came to the attention of the public because of the late
decision to try to amend the designation of the site at Whittington Way in the local
plan. At the Inquiry into the local plan EHDC's representatives conceded that
- There was no compelling financial case for meeting the requirement in this way
– not least because the cost of site acquisition had not been established.
- The reserved school site at Hadham Road, already in public ownership, was large
enough to provide a school which met the long term requirement for additional places
(6 forms of entry).
Additional objections made at the inquiry to relocating the schools to Whittington
Way included
- Loss of an important Green Belt site – the only one between the bypass and the
built up area of Bishop’s Stortford. It would be unrealistic to expect the rest
of the site to be preserved from development once a large part of it had been used
for schools.
- Intolerable traffic congestion as a result of concentrating so large a school population
on a single site, remote from the main public transport services.
- Further pressure on the town’s fragile infrastructure and on the demand for school
places if the Hadham Road site and those vacated by the schools were used for additional
housing. Although the local plan does not provide for using all the sites in this
way, the sponsors of the proposal would no doubt argue that such use was essential
to help pay for their scheme.
The Inspector found these arguments compelling and proposes in her draft report
to direct the Council not to alter the Green Belt designation of the site or to
release the Hadham Road site for housing unless the need for school places can be
met elsewhere. She did, however, leave open the possibility that in spite of the
contents of the local plan, the schools could still submit a planning application
for use of the Whittington Way site – a loophole which the schools apparently intend
to exploit.
Determining the location of secondary education provision is a strategic issue which
will have a profound effect on the physical and social fabric of the town for decades
to come. As the Council has found with the Jackson Square development, once outline
planning permission has been granted, it is difficult to make more than minor adjustments
if the scheme turns out on detailed examination to be unacceptable. And a three
minute slot for one objector to address the Development Control Committee is not
an appropriate way of debating the merits of a major strategic issue such as school
relocation.
You said before Christmas that nobody was currently responsible for a strategy for
the future of Bishop’s Stortford, and that you were considering the establishment
of a committee to fill this gap and guide the Council on the future development
of the town. I am therefore writing to suggest to you that the committee needs to
be established before it is overtaken by events, and that the provision of extra
secondary school places is just the sort of issue which it should be considering.
I hope therefore the Council will feel able to discourage the sponsors of the school
relocation scheme from submitting an outline planning application before your proposed
committee has had a chance to examine the proposal and the alternatives; and that
you will refuse any planning application which is submitted prematurely.
I am sending a copy of this letter to the 'Herts and Essex Observer' in the hope
that it might stimulate the public debate on this issue which the two schools have
so far appeared to be anxious to avoid.
JOHN RHODES
CHAIRMAN