‘Buntingford is SO nice’

‘We moved here because Hertford / Cheshunt / Ware were too big. In Buntingford people are friendly, they say ‘hullo’, ‘good morning’. Its so much nicer than where we came from and we don’t want it to get too big and change too much.’

The above captures the feelings of Buntingford people of all ages and regardless of the duration of their residence in our Town.

In recent applications developers have proposed blocks of affordable flats on the east of the Town. Not only are they ignoring planning guidelines that recommend affordable/social dwellings should be integrated and not clustered, they are showing indifference to protecting the landscape of the Rib Valley.

The future of the Town can be managed to an advanced degree and to start with absolutely no opportunistic development should occur without an EHC District Plan in place, wide consultation and a referendum (all part of the National Planning Policy Framework).

Elected representatives at all levels are encouraged to be fully aware of the groundswell of dissent at the ‘we know best’ directives. (Not to be casually dismissed as Nimby views.)

At the end of the day we are talking about our Town in 2031 and it would be wonderful to believe that residents then will speak as warmly about Buntingford as we do now.

We are aware that Town Councillors and Community Groups are tackling issues related to monitoring the District Plan and determining whether a Neighbourhood Plan should be prepared and when your participation is sought come forward with enthusiasm.

Derek K Cooper,

Chairman, Buntingford Civic Society