Proposed Schools' Relocation - Information Map
4 Mar 10 - Report criticises plan for Stortford's super-school New!
The Herts and Essex Observer, using the Freedom of Information Act, has obtained a design review which was commissioned by East Herts District Council and compiled by Inspire East. The conclusion of Inspire East was that they were not yet convinced by the arguments for the super-school plan.
See this story in the Herts and Essex Observer of 4 March 2010.
25 Feb 10 - Strong reaction to Tooze's comments New!
Reactions to the article New head backs super school published in the Herts and Essex Observer on 18 February 2010 have been strong and plentiful. A number of letters (all firmly against the new super school) have been printed in the same newspaper. The BSCF remains solidly opposed to any super school at Whittington Way. See also this leader in the Herts and Essex Observer of 25 February 2010.
18 Feb 10 - New Herts & Essex school head, Cathy Tooze, sparks controversy New!
The new head of the Herts & Essex High School, Cathy Tooze, has reingnited the schools debate. See this article in the Herts and Essex Observer of 18 February 2010 in which she voices her support of the new super shcool at Whittington Way.
9 Dec 09 - Local Government Ombudsman replies to BSCF
The Local Government Ombudsman has sent a reply to the BSCF's letter of 7 Dec 2009 and has given East Herts District Council until 8 February 2010 to properly address the BSCF's complaint against them.
7 Dec 09 - BSCF appeals to Local Government Ombudsman over EHDC's meetings with developers
Following East Herts District Council's refusal to investigate the BSCF's complaint against them, the BSCF has written to the Local Goverment Ombudsman. See this letter from the BSCF to the Local Government Ombudsman and this exchange of letters between the BSCF and EHDC.
19 Nov 09 - Bishop's Stortford super-school plan back on?
An East Herts District Council boss stands accused of colluding with a developer to push through controversial plans for a Bishop's Stortford super-school – in defiance of public opposition. The BSCF has made a formal complaint.
This report by Sinead Holland appeared in the Herts and Essex Observer - Super-school plan back on?
Also, see this letter from the vice chairman of the BSCF, John Rhodes, published in the Herts and Essex Observer and a reply from the Legal Manager, East Herts District Council.
11 Dec 08 - BSCF hails withdrawal of plan as a "victory for the people"
The withdrawal of plans for a combined schools site at Whittington Way has been welcomed by the BSCF. See this letter from the chairman of the BSCF, Richard Hannah, published in the Herts and Essex Observer.
4 Dec 08 - School governors withdraw single-site plan
The announcement of a rethink by schools governors comes in the wake of planning officials recommending that East Herts district councillors reject the controversial project by Bishop's Stortford High and Herts & Essex High to expand and move to a shared site off Whittington Way. See this story in the Herts and Essex Observer.
30 Oct 08 - Essex County Council withdraws its objections to schools move plans Top
In a surprise move, Essex County Council announced that it had withdrawn its support for the BSCF's objections to the proposed schools' move. See this story in the Herts and Essex Observer.
See the BSCF's reaction to Essex County Council's announcement in a letter to the Herts and Essex Observer.
Writing an Objection Letter - some points to consider Top
Now that the October 16 meeting has been POSTPONED, we understand that East Herts District Council will continue to accept letters of objection until just before the rescheduled public meeting. The date of this meeting has yet to be announced.
If you have not done so already, please write to Herts District Council with your views on this matter. You can write one letter per person rather than one letter per household.
For a basic guide to writing an objection letter, see Objection Letter - some points to consider.
For a more detailed guide to writing an objection letter, see Detailed Objection Letter.
Some reference material outlining objections to the proposed schools' relocation
Supporting Planning Statement produced by Vincent and Gorbing, urban planners.Detailed Briefing Note.
Letter giving summary of objections.
Head teacher's school move fears
Other letters on this topic:
Letter (11 Sep 08) from Chantry Residents' Association to Letter to Head of Planning and Building Control
Letter (21 Sep 08) from Parsonage Residents' Association to Head of Development Control
Letter (18 Sep 08) from Haymeads Residents' Association to Head of Development Control
Letter (16 Sep 08) from OTTRA to Head of Planning and Building Control
Letter (15 Sep 08) from Mr B Adams (OTTRA) to Director of Neighbourhood Services (Development Control)
Letter (18 Aug 08) from Warwick Road Maintenance Association to East Herts Development Control
Formal Objection Letter (18 Aug 08) from BSCF to Head of Development Control
Letter of 9 Apr 08 to Herts & Essex Observer
Letter of 7 Aug 07 to Herts County Council
Letter of 28 Jun 07 to Herts & Essex Observer
The future of schools is vitally important for Bishop's Stortford. It is crucial that you make your views known before it's too late.
Open meeting to discuss schools situation Top
COME to an OPEN MEETING
for
AN OPPORTUNITY TO ASK QUESTIONS/LEARN THE FACTS ABOUT HOW THE PROPOSED RELOCATION OF THE HERTS & ESSEX GIRLS' & THE BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOLS COULD AFFECT SECONDARY SCHOOL PLACES IN THE AREA.
for
AN OPPORTUNITY TO ASK QUESTIONS/LEARN THE FACTS ABOUT HOW THE PROPOSED RELOCATION OF THE HERTS & ESSEX GIRLS' & THE BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOLS COULD AFFECT SECONDARY SCHOOL PLACES IN THE AREA.
These two schools have jointly submitted plans to sell their town premises and playing fields for housing, and to purchase with the proceeds of sale 50 acres of green belt land in Thorley, which will then be developed as a large campus with shared facilities for 3000+ pupils attending the two juxtaposed rebuilt schools.
These applications will be determined on a date in early December.
Tuesday 28th October 2008, from 7.30 pm at Thorley Community Centre (next to the Harvest Moon, Friedberg Avenue)
Local volunteer speakers from the field of education will be pleased to form a panel and discuss in open forum with parents and teachers the implications of these proposals.
The two-fold objective of this meeting is:
- to provide an opportunity for parents of children in feeder schools to ask what are the facts and projections for town provision of secondary school education over the next 13 years
- to arm themselves with enough information to make the best choices possible for their children's futures in their teen years.
Chaired by Richard Hannah, chairman of the BSCF (Bishop's Stortford Civic Federation)
Hosted by TMRA (Thorley Manor Residents' Association)
Organised by OTTRA (Old Thorley & Twyford Park Residents' Association)
Town Planning Committee rejects all six planning applications Top
At the Town Planning meeting held on September 10 to discuss the new schools proposals, the Planning Committee unanimously rejected all six applications Link .
This decision requires ratification by the East Herts Development Control Committee when it meets in October of this year.
BSCF outlines its formal objections Top
The BSCF has published its Formal Objections to the proposed schools move. The objection letter includes an appendix outlining the Inspector's Report on this issue, as published in the Local Plan, Second Review, 2007.
Planning applications lodged for new secondary school at Whittington Way Top
Six outline planning applications have been received by East Herts District Council Link in relation to the proposed schools' move and the Whittington Way site in Bishop's Stortford Map . For specific details of each planning application, see this Link on the East Herts Council's website.
The six applications also include residential development on the current sites and on the reserve secondary school site on Hadham Road — the site allocated for homes in the Local Plan if sufficient secondary school space is provided elsewhere in the town.
You can see copies of the applications at Bishop's Stortford Town Council in Windhill, the library at The Causeway and in East Herts Council's Hertford offices.
If you wish to comment on the applications, send your letter by September 19, quoting the reference numbers of the application, to Development Control, East Herts Council, Wallfields, Pegs Lane, Hertford SG13 8EQ.
The applications will be considered at a special meeting of the Development Control committee on Thursday October 16 at the Charis Centre, Water Lane, Bishop's Stortford at 6pm. It's a public meeting which anyone can attend.
Members of the public will be allowed to speak at the meeting provided they have already commented in writing and have registered with the council by 5pm on October 9.
A report from the Bishop's Stortford Carnival held on 21 June 2008 Top
On 21st June 2008, members of Bishop's Stortford Civic Federation and two Thorley Residents Associations joined the carnival fun on Sworder's Field and set up a colourful stall with green balloons and badges to attract the attention of towns people enjoying the day. The BSCF exists to look after the interests of town and wherever possible save it from the worst of the planners' follies. The current campaign is in opposition to the proposals put forward by the school governing bodies of The Bishop's Stortford High School (for boys) and The Herts & Essex High School (for girls) to relocate to green belt farmland in Thorley and sell off their vacated land for housing to Countryside Properties developers in order to fund the rebuilding.
Hundreds of people visited the stall, where maps were on display and leaflets and objection letters were offered to supporters. People had the opportunity to sign two petitions: one against the proposed new school at Whittington Way and associated housing plans; the other requesting the county council to provide a school on the reserved Hadham Road site.
Thorley campaigners reported as follows. We collected signatures from about 700 people. There seemed to be three groups: those who knew what was going on and at one point were queueing up to sign; those who were very alarmed and anxious to know more about whom they could write to and what could they do; and those (mainly parents of young families, many of whom had failed to get children into schools of their choice) who knew only what they read in newspapers, had mixed feelings and couldn't be sure about what to do for the best for their children.
Among views often heard were that another community school needed to be built and that The Bishop's Stortford High School was selected as first choice not because parents felt strongly about single sex schools but because it was a criterion to use to try to get children into the best local school. All the campaigners found themselves talking nonstop to people wanting to know more or give their own views, and it was clear that only a very small percentage of people, less than 5%, were not interested in signing, often because they did not live in the area.
One campaigner, Sarah-Jane Pyne, said she was surprised by the broad spectrum of people lending their support which was given for a number of different reasons, the principal ones including:
- Pressure on transport with 3000 people trying to get to one area in town at the same time
- The principle of building on green belt land
- Not wanting almost 1000 extra homes in a town with an infrastructure that is already under pressure
Of those she asked to sign the petition, only 3 people refused, giving the following reasons:
- "I like the idea of the two schools combining to become co-ed"
- "Can't avoid building on green belt forever - the population is growing"
- "I haven't made up my mind yet whether I'm for or against the plan"
The Bishop's Stortford Civic Federation, along with support from all the Residents' Associations, intends to carry out a series of awareness days over the coming weeks to make sure that the public become more aware of the serious implications of the schools' move on the town and our Green Belt land.
The first awareness day is planned to take place on the 12th of July at Sainsbury's Thorley Neighbourhood Centre. This will be followed by two more awareness days in August and September; details will follow in due course.
The Civic Federation would encourage members of the public to visit our awareness stall to find out more and sign our petition objecting to the proposal.
Public protest meeting held at the Rhodes Centre Top
The Bishop's Stortford Liberal Democrats organised a public protest meeting on Saturday, May 24 at the Rhodes Centre, Bishop's Stortford. Among the speakers at the meeting were representatives from the BSCF, Thorley Parish Council and Friends of the Earth.
See here for a report of this meeting.
Public exhibitions held to explain schools relocation Top
A public exhibition was arranged to explain the proposals for the expansion and relocation of the Herts & Essex High School and The Bishop's Stortford High School onto a new campus to the north of Whittington Way. The exhibition took place over three days:
| Date | Time | Venue |
| Tuesday, 8 April | 2pm - 8pm | Herts & Essex School, Warwick Road |
| Wednesday, 9 April | 2pm - 8pm | The Bishop's Stortford High School, London Road |
| Saturday, 12 April | 10am - 4pm | The Rhodes Centre, South Street |
Representatives from the two schools and Hertfordshire County Council were available to answer questions and listen to opinions.