Planning and Development Committee

Bishop's Stortford Town Council Planning and Development Committee is a statutory consultee on all planning applications affecting the Town. East Herts District Council is the legal planning authority and planning decisions are ultimately made by them. East Herts DC will take into account representations made by Bishop's Stortford Town Council.

Planning Process and Policies

The Government's Planning Portal explains the planning process in more detail at www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/ 

To find out more information regarding planning or to view plans online visit www.eastherts.gov.uk/planning

The current East Herts District Plan is available here

Neighbourhood Planning

The Neighbourhood Plans for Bishop's Stortford have replaced many former Bishop's Stortford Town Council's Planning Policies and have statutory force.

Neighbourhood Plans give the local community a legally binding say in the planning of new development and are as important as documents created by East Herts District Council.  There are two Neighbourhood Plans for Bishop's Stortford because it was felt that it would be too much to cover the whole town in one go.  These cover Silverleys and Meads wards and, in a separate plan, All Saints, Central, South wards and part of Thorley parish

They have statutory force and carry equal weight to the East Herts Local Plan.  

No Comment Responses to Certain Applications

The Bishop's Stortford Town Council Planning and Development Committee will review all applications for planning permission in Bishop's Stortford.  Applications for commercial or larger domestic developments are considered individually.  The Committee will enter a 'no comment' response to applications for smaller domestic developments which lie wholly within one or more of the following classes unless a representation or letter of objection has been received from a member of the public or a Councillor or member of the public would like to speak on the particular application:

  • Domestic 1 story rear extensions <4m
  • Domestic 1 and 2 storey extensions which project no further than the building line of immediately adjacent buildings
  • Domestic 1 storey side extensions >=1m from side boundary
  • Domestic porches

Such applications will still appear in agendas and minutes for meetings of the Planning Committee.