Bishop's Stortford Farmers and Craft market returns on Saturday 1 June! Head on down to North Street between 9:30 and 1:30 for local produce and hand made items. 

Bishop's Stortford Town Council has received Planning Permission (with conditions) for the change of use of Cemetery Lodge to a single dwelling with seperate office. This will require the refurbishment of the property with the exception of the office.

The Town Council requires a contractor to fully manage the refurbishment of the property. Further information can be found here.

Tender submissions are required by 16:00 on Friday 17th May 2019.

Our Farmers and Craft market returns tomorrow from 9.30am on North Street. A list of traders include:

Radwinter Game
Wired and Admired jewellery
Chocy Heaven
Toff's Pet Treats
Golden Goat Soaps
Treats from the Kitchen- cakes and biscuits
Spice Queen- hand-blended spices
Beau Petit Macaron
Olivine Originals Natural Skincare
Bishop's Stortford Beekeepers
Bell and Wood candles
Bishop's Stortford Art Society
Heavenly Homemade- jams and cakes
Moggy's Pickles
New Barn Farm- meat

Hope to see you there in the sunshine!

The Tourist Information Centre will be closed on Tuesday 2 April 2019 for staff training. We will open from 10am on Wednesday 3 April.

Elections for both Town and District Councils will be held on 2nd May 2019 and East Herts District Council has published comprehensive information for potential candidates.  This is available here.  If any potential candidate would like further information about the work of the Town Council or Town Councillors they may contact the Chief Executive Officer of the Town Council who will be happy to assist. 

Potential candidates should note the following dates for meetings which will take place shortly after the election:

13-May-19 (Mon) Statutory Annual Meeting of the Council
20-May-19 (Mon) Finance and General Purposes Committee
28-May-19 (Tue) Planning and Development Committee
03-Jun-19 (Mon) Environment and Public Amenities Committee
17-Jun-19 (Mon) Planning and Development Committee
24-Jun-19 (Mon) Town Council 

We are recruiting for a varied and interesting post in our Tourism, Events and Markets Team. Visit https://www.bishopsstortfordtc.gov.uk/vacancies for more information

Following a request from East Herts Council, Bishop’s Stortford Town Council’s Planning and Development Committee are asking the residents and schools of Bishop’s Stortford to help suggest new street names for future housing developments.

Last year, the Councillors suggested referencing the area’s heritage and military history, which have now been used for the new housing estates at St Michael’s Hurst and Stortford Fields.

If you would like to suggest some appropriate street names, email them to Sim Richardson (sim.richardson@bishopsstortfordtc.gov.uk) along with a brief description. Following this, a short-list will be drawn up by the Town Council for consideration by East Herts Council and the developer. 

Royal Mail will have the final say to avoid overly similar addresses and decide on the suffix, such as ‘Way, Close or Avenue’.

Carnival Fun Day Mobile Bar Bids are welcome. Bid information  can be found here: https://www.bishopsstortfordtc.gov.uk/carnival-parade-and-fun-day-2019

Applications are now open for the following events:

• Bishop's Stortford Carnival Parade and Fun Day - Saturday 15 June 2019:

Please see: www.bishopsstortfordtc.gov.uk/carnival-parade-and-fun-day-2019

• Bishop's Stortford Christmas Fayre - Saturday 7 December 2019:

Please see: www.bishopsstortfordtc.gov.uk/christmas-fayre-2019

Plans to combine two green spaces in Bishop’s Stortford into one beautiful park have taken another huge step forward thanks to National Lottery funding.

The grant of £1,939,700, awarded jointly by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Big Lottery Fund, will enable Bishop’s Stortford Town Council (BSTC) and its partner, East Herts District Council (EHC), to forge ahead with their plans. 

Castle Gardens, owned by EHC, and Sworders Field, owned by BSTC, are located either side of the River Stort. The project will bring these two green spaces together under the banner of ‘Castle Park’, to become an exciting, vibrant place for the town and surrounding communities to enjoy.

The improvements include:

Making Waytemore Castle - a Grade I listed building and scheduled monument - and the war memorial, commemorating those lost in the two world wars, the prime focal points of the park. This includes crucial work to conserve the castle remains on the top of the mound.

A new crossing will be constructed along the River Stort, providing greater access to the river. Attractive planting and restoration of the river will improve visibility and draw rare wildlife into the area, and with the right conditions even water voles and otters could be spotted.

A new network of paths to improve access for the community, including older and disabled people. The children’s play area and splash pool will be better connected by the new bridge.

Teens will have a space designed especially for them, with exciting features such as a new skate park extension.

Considerable changes will be made to the existing buildings to create a new community space with a café and easy access “Changing Places” toilets, providing improved facilities for local people and visitors. The old toilet block fronting the Causeway will be given a new lease of life.

The recently established Friends Group, supported by a new community engagement officer, will help to develop and look after the park and engage local community groups, with training being provided to help this happen. The work to successfully obtain this grant has already been supported by the History Society, the Civic Federation and local residents interested in the project.

A number of events for the community, such as guided walks, will be arranged from April, further details of these will be shared shortly.

The project continues to benefit from the support of Hertfordshire County Council’s Countryside Management Service. A planning application for the works involved has been submitted and will be considered by the East Herts District Council Development Management Committee shortly.

National Lottery and public parks

Since 1996, more than £950million raised by National Lottery players has been used to support the regeneration, conservation and increased enjoyment of public parks and cemeteries across the UK. Find out more about how to apply at https://www.hlf.org.uk/looking-funding/what-we-fund/landscapes-parks-na…

About the Heritage Lottery Fund

Thanks to National Lottery players, we invest money to help people across the UK explore, enjoy and protect the heritage they care about - from the archaeology under our feet to the historic parks and buildings we love, from precious memories and collections to rare wildlife. www.hlf.org.uk. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLottery and #HLFsupported.

About Big Lottery Fund

We are the largest community funder in the UK – we’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Since June 2004, we have made over 200,000 grants and awarded over £9 billion to projects that have benefited millions of people. 

We are passionate about funding great ideas that matter to communities and make a difference to people’s lives. At the heart of everything we do is the belief that when people are in the lead, communities thrive. Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, our funding is open to everyone. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.