So, the powers of conservatism in Hertford have finally won. The developers have pulled out of the second phase of the Bircherley Green redevelopment scheme. This is a Pyrrhic victory at best. We are left with a shopping centre with empty and boarded up shops and grass growing through every crack like a town in …
I failed to get elected to Hertford Town Council for the Bengeo Ward. I would like to thank the other 258 electors who did vote for me. I would also like to thank all those people who took time to read my election manifesto page which showed a healthy amount of hits according to my …
Independence for Folly Island Folly Island is a real island, separated from the town centre by the River Lea and from Bengeo by Hartham Common.…
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 …
Finally after many months of bated breath a planning application has been made for the redevelopment of Bircherley Green Shopping Centre. Both are long overdue. If you cannot wait any longer this is the link to the the appropriate page: https://www.publicaccess.eastherts.gov.uk and enter 3/17/0392/FUL into the search box. There are pages and pages supporting the …
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 …