As you will be aware, the BID have been working on a number of initiatives to improve parking in Bishop’s Stortford, for both visitors and town centre workers. We share your frustrations on this daily and have put a huge amount of time and effort into coming up with workable ideas.
One such scheme is a discount for town centre workers using Northgate End car park. The idea was to have 100 permits available to town centre workers which would enable them to a reduced cost of parking per day at £3.50 instead of £5.20. It was for a trial, for a year. This has the added benefits of making a quiet car park busier, and relieving the pressure on central car parks such as Apton Road and Basbow Lane. Thereby allowing ore visitors and customers to be able to park in close at hand car parks.
Following a number of meetings a report was drafted by council officers to go to the councillors to make a decision on, this is the process such schemes need to go through to gain approval. However we have now been told that this is not going to be given the go ahead for now, it has been paused.
East Herts Council have issued the following statement to us, to share with you:
“After careful consideration, we have decided to take more time to thoroughly assess and refine the proposed town centre worker parking discount scheme. Our intention is to make sure that the scheme aligns with the council’s sustainability goals and responds appropriately to our recent climate emergency declaration. This extension will allow us to create a more effective and sustainable financial and environmental solution for the benefit of the whole community.
“We recognise the anticipation and interest among the town centre workforce for this scheme, and appreciate their patience during this process. We will work as quickly as possible to review proposals and see what more we can do to facilitate active travel, alongside encouraging the use of Northgate End.
“I would like to extend my thanks to the Business Improvement District (BID) team for their hard work, support and persistence in seeing the town centre parking experience improved. Together, we will continue working collaboratively to develop a scheme that best serves the interests of the town and its thriving businesses.
“We will share a further update as soon as we can.”
The BID team is extremely disappointed that this scheme has been paused. We absolutely respect the climate emergency situation, and remain ready to support any initiatives on sustainability, but Bishop’s Stortford businesses need help now. The BID’s main focus is developing strategies with key stakeholders, like East Herts District Council, to support our thriving town centre so that people can shop and work locally.
This scheme is not about encouraging more cars on the road, but rather a balanced approach to help address multiple issues. We are mindful of the fact some visitors and workers are choosing to drive further due to the cost of Bishop’s Stortford car parks and issues with accessibility of spaces here. The BID remains committed to providing businesses with the best possible trading conditions and will be continuing to work with East Herts to find a way forward for this all-important scheme.
We are sorry this is not good news now, but we determined to continue working to find a solution and we have asked for the opportunity to talk to councillors to explain more about our scheme and address the concerns they have. This has been agreed for September, date to confirmed.
As soon as we have any more news on this, we will share it with you.
