Hitchin Forum

Another Forum Newsletter  Newsletter Sept Oct 2024 . There are reports about local plans, an update on the ‘development’ of Luton Airport and a brief look at Ickleford. We are also thinking about the impact of the heavy trucks trundling into the industrial area. Let us know if you have any thoughts on this or other local problems.

A Hitchin Forum meeting concerning trucks, traffic and local highway issues was noted in the newsletter, but a full account of that public meeting with a senior county council officer involved with highways is here  **highways meeting account.

Are you concerned about the fires on Hitchin’s industrial estate?

In the early hours of Friday 8th November, fire fighters and appliances from as far away as Bedford were called to a large fire in one of the recycling plants on Hitchin industrial estate. The blaze was tackled with the aid of a powerful high volume water pump taking water from a main some distance from the fire. The fire broke out in a large pile of scrap metal, and is likely to have been caused by a hidden Lithium-ion battery, although that has not yet been confirmed. A plume of black smoke was visible for miles around, local residents were told to keep windows and doors closed, and local businesses remained closed. According to the BBC website https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy93wg27kjo the fire was the 4th on the industrial estate within the last 12 months, and the 5th since 2019. There is more in The Comet.

Churchgate Regeneration The Council’s ‘Hitchin Community Forum’ had a presentation and workshop on September 9th about the next stage in the plans for renovating/ regenerating/developing Churchgate and including the market and surrounding spaces. Last year they appointed Lambert Smith Hampton to help with the next steps and LSH ran the workshop on Sept 9th with a very open approach in asking residents what they would like to see developed, changed and retained in the project. Overall they gave a very good impression that they are open to all possibilities and keen to engage us residents in the consultation. The consultation process continues with an ‘information hub’ adjoining Etcetera (at the top of Churchgate). That hub is open from September 17th (on certain days) and the consultation continues until November 3rd (extended from October 20th) – all information is here – on the Council’s website – just click here. There is a bit more info on  the Council’s online hub where people can also sign up to be kept informed.

The Big Autumn Clear Up was another success with over a hundred volunteers working at 18 sites in the town collected loads of rubbish. Thanks to North Herts Council and Visit Hitchin for their support and to all of the volunteers! The next event will be in the spring – contact hflitterpick@gmail.com if you would like to join in.

Do we need a Town Council? This has been a topic over several years, but things are on the move…. Hitchin Initiative has produced leaflets to outline the case for a Town Council, with a new website – https://hitchin.co.uk/ They are seeking support so do sign up if you support that. The background is partly a desire for more local control of what happens here, but also an awareness of central government’s review of local authorities. Some think that will lead to large scale changes and the introduction of unitary authorities to replace the county council. North Herts Council is also running a ‘Community Governance Review’ which includes a brief online survey to get residents views. This ends on October 7th. They are keen to hear residents’ views, and would undoubtedly like to hear if people think a town council is a good idea!

Our latest newsletter contains thoughts on the recent changes to Bearton Road to support the 20mph limit. The Herts CC proposal on 20 mph limits in Hitchin seems to provoke two reactions – why is it necessary? and why is it not more extensive? A recent study – Lower Urban Speed Limits in Europe seeks to provide answers, providing figures on speed reduction and road casualties. Whilst the changes in both may be modest they do show benefits. Whether it is to reduce the harm done to a pedestrian if there is an accident, or to improve health by encouraging walking and cycling in the area the good effects must surely be worth the little extra driving time through a speed limited zone. And why are more streets not included? That remains a mystery, and it is curious that a road such as Fishponds, with the access to two schools along there, is not in the plan, nor Benslow Lane, with another primary school on it. The signs are up, but are the speeds down??

Luton Airport, now rebranded as Luton Rising, is seeking a Development Consent Order to allow it to increase its passenger numbers from 18 million per year to 32 million by 2038. Plans of this size are regarded as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, and as such are required to undergo an examination by the Planning Inspectorate which will prepare a report to the Minister of Transport who has the final say on whether the development can go ahead. In order to have our views considered, Hitchin Forum has prepared a submission to the Planning Inspectorate outlining its arguments opposing the development. You can read the submission here –Hitchin Forum Summary of case.

The required Public Examination of Luton Airport’s owners, Luton Rising’s (LR’s) application for the Development Consent Order (DCO) closed on February 10^th. The final round of submissions to the Examination, consisting of 113 documents, was published on 9^th February on the National Infrastructure Planning website. These included statements of common ground between Luton Rising and various stakeholders such as National Highways, local councils (including both North Hertfordshire Council and Hertfordshire County Council) and Thames Water. These documents list issues which have arisen during the Examination, stating the applicant’s (i.e. Luton Rising’s) and the stakeholder’s positions, and whether or not there is agreement between them. Those areas where there is disagreement are likely to be those on which the Inspectors will focus in order to make their recommendation. Areas of disagreement include surface access issues, aircraft noise and increased carbon emissions.

The Inspectors have compiled their report and recommendation to the Secretary of State for Transport, which had to be submitted 3 months after the end of the Inquiry (i.e. May 10^th). The Secretary of State has 3 months to publish a decision. The timetable was set before the general election was announced, and we have new secretaries of State, so it could be that this timetable is disrupted to some extent.

A fuller version of this brief account can be found here;

https://www.hitchinforum.org.uk/luton-airport-update-march-2024/

The latest news on Luton is here!

Highover Farm Development. There is an amended plan available on the NHC website – if you have difficulty with that link the Application number is 18/01154/OP. The amended plan is NTS2d Illustrative Masterplan (received 24.01.2023) under Related Documents/View associated documents. The Forum had been involved in a 2019 meeting with the developers and others and the meeting minutes are here. Comments on the plans are included in our January 2022 newsletter. North Herts Council Planning Committee approved the amended plan at its meeting on October 12th 2023, despite representations against this, and despite an excellent commentary on the plans in this video!

The North Herts Local Plan  The Inspectors final verdict arrived on September 8th and was adopted at the Council’s Cabinet meeting on November 2nd 2022 and at Full Council on November 8th 2022 – the full report is here.

Hitchin Footpaths – How You Can Help  For some years, Hitchin Forum members have worked in coordination with Hertfordshire County Council’s then Countryside Access Officer for our area. Read more here about what we do and  what can be done for the town’s 100+ footpaths and bridleways.

Friends of Butts Close –Butts Close is the oldest open space in Hitchin with a long history of use stretching back to late medieval times, when it was a sporting ground for archery. The Friends help take care of it, do some extra litter clearance and even some planting – Tony who coordinates the group is pictured here (photo Simon Maddison). The latest newsletter is here  (with a special report on a bug hunt!) and a Butts Close Species Records 2013-23 here (which will download to your computer). There is more about the Friends here.

Air Quality in Hitchin – what is happening?

What else do we do? The Forum exists to develop and channel energy and enthusiasm for the town. We work to highlight things that we think need to change and improve the town. Information on all of our current and recent campaigns, issues and concerns are available here. We have organized working groups to look at the main issues as they arise – eg. the town centre, transport, open spaces and recreation, planning applications and planning policies  More details here with info on the planning system. 

Hitchin Forum was formed in 1992 as a non-political umbrella to bring together people and organizations to challenge developments that we think will damage our heritage and future- more history is here. 

Read more about Hitchin, its history and the changes here.

Members are regularly updated on issues and meetings, by occasional emails and a 2 monthly newsletter –  present & previous ones are here. We hold several members’ meetings through the year. Do join us! Anyone with an interest in Hitchin can join the Forum, either as an individual or as a nominated representative of an organization in the town. If you do want to be more involved then tell us – we often need an extra pair of hands! But – there is no obligation to do more than sign up – that is support enough. It is important that we have a wide membership base, partly so that we can hear a wide range of opinions, and also that we hear about issues in all corners of the town – membership details here.

Contact the co-chairs at chair@hitchinforum.org.uk

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