As I wrote last year there has not been much to write about in Hertford. Then as if by magic new proposals have been submitted regarding the redevelopment of Bircherley Green Shopping Centre. The full application along with drawings can be read or downloaded from here: https://publicaccess.eastherts.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=PGACFWGLG9S00 The deadline to lodge comments whether in favour …
You may have noticed that not much has happened on these pages since 1 November 2017. Not much has happened in Hertford either! I suffered a very strange virus infection from the beginning of January this year. This is not the place to describe the symptoms; suffice it to say you wouldn’t raise the problems …
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 …
So, the final act as been played out and the Hertford Waitrose is no more. Some might say this is a sad day for the town but more of that later. I am reminded of Marc Antony in Julius Caesar Act 3 Scene 2 The evil that men do lives after them; The good is …
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 …
It was with a wry smile that I read in the Hertfordshire Mercury that Hertford Town Council had voted unanimously to reject the planning application to redevelop Bircherley Green. This would be fine if it wasn’t so wrong or, far from the truth. It was the Planning sub-committee that voted to reject the plans. There …
Looking back over these posts they all follow a similar pattern. One of closure, redundancy and retirement. John and Judy Workman called in at Waitrose the other day and told my wife that they had retired. John is better known incorrectly as John Claydon – the fishmonger. They had a shop – Claydons – in …
That thud on the doormat was not the daily delivery of junk mail, nor the latest manuscript submission to a publisher rejected for the second or third time but the other boot finally falling. That boot is of course the confirmed closure of Waitrose in Bircherley Green in September 2017. It was the only outcome …
Welcome 2017. Me and Mrs B took a stroll around town last Saturday (31st December 2016) and discovered a few things. In Depth Diving School in Bull Plain has closed. This was quite unexpected. I always highlighted them in reports as one of three independent traders that were unique to Hertford. The other two being …
I have commented elsewhere on this site the devastating effect the death of our grandson in October 2015 had on my family and myself. I stepped down from my last remaining position in town and took no more than a passing interest in events. Family and friends said this was not good for me. To …