The Bishop’s Stortford High School (TBSHS) – BISH6 EHDC’s Development Management Committee (DMC) resolved in November 2020 to grant outline planning permission for the redevelopment of TBSHS’s current site for 223 homes (compared with around 150 in the District Plan).

In November 2021 BSCF were invited to join the reconvened Steering Group for the development. At that meeting we learnt that, more than 18 months later, the planning conditions and the legal S106 agreement which would give effect to this resolution have apparently not yet been concluded – and a formal Decision Notice of consent has still not been issued. The site’s redevelopment for housing is also subject to a condition in the District Plan, that sufficient secondary school places have to be found elsewhere in Bishop’s Stortford before it can be used for housing.

For the reasons set out in the Additional Homes section (to be added shortly), we believe this condition is still to be satisfied. When making its resolution in 2020, the DMC was also advised that mitigation measures would be put in place through the S106 agreement to reduce the severe traffic impacts which were predicted but until the agreement is concluded we do not know what this will include. We intend to raise these issues with the reconvened Steering Group.

 

                                         August 2022