Hertford East Station

School for Scoundrels I was pleased to discover that I am not the only person to watch old black and white films on Talking Pictures TV. They recently broadcast School for Scoundrels; a typical 1960 British comedy that even Ian Carmichael, Terry Thomas and the legendary Alastair Sim cannot raise over the ordinary. My wife… Continue reading Hertford East Station

Bircherley Green 2020

As promised in my previous post I am placing my letter of objection to the latest planning application for Bircherley Green as submitted by Chase New Homes. The full list of documents accompanying the application can be viewed here. My own letter of objection is posted here and can be read as a .pdf file.… Continue reading Bircherley Green 2020

Sitting in Bircherley Green

“I used to have a standing joke and say if I’d been really bad and went to purgatory when I died, I’d find myself trapped in Peterborough railway station on a cold winter’s night, with the cold wind blowing across the Fens.” Not my words but those of Louise Doughty talking to BBC News about… Continue reading Sitting in Bircherley Green

Fings aint what they used to be

Since it was announced that Chase Homes intended to buy Bircherley Green the newspapers, message boards and pubs have been full of hopes, plans and wish lists. Unfortunately the planning process does not work that way. I have lived in Hertford since 1980 but was born and grew up in Camden Town. On Saturday morning… Continue reading Fings aint what they used to be

This is your home town

Son take a good look aroundThis is your home town. Bruce Springsteen I am tired of everybody telling me that Hertford is the county town. Maybe it is;  but on what grounds?  Look at this. This is the situation facing anyone walking through Maidenhead Street towards Salisbury Square. You have to turn left and cross… Continue reading This is your home town

Hertford’s future now?

Now that the dust has settled on the planning application for Bircherley Green Shopping Centre it is time to think ahead. There are still a few permissions and details to be finalised but for many the die has already been cast. The owners of the site have given everybody notice to quit. This was not… Continue reading Hertford’s future now?

Hertford retail – Part Three

During my time as Town Centre Manager it was easy to promote Hertford, a different but amazing kind of town full of independent traders; a town where you could still find a haberdashery (since closed), ironmongers and diving school (closed since December 2016 and premises still unoccupied). That wide retail offer continues to decline since… Continue reading Hertford retail – Part Three

A walk through Hertford 2017

Wrenbridge have just submitted the final plans for the redevelopment of Bircherley Green Shopping Centre after months of discussion between themselves and East Herts Planning Department, local groups, residents and more than enough statutory consultant bodies such as the Environment Agency and the Canal and River Trust that you can throw a blueprint at. If… Continue reading A walk through Hertford 2017