A COUNCIL boss stands accused of colluding with a developer to push through controversial plans for a Bishop’s Stortford super-school – in defiance of public opposition.
On Monday, the town’s civic federation made a formal complaint about the conduct of East Herts District Council’s head of planning and building control, Kevin Steptoe, after uncovering what it alleges is a damning paper trail.
It demanded copies of emails sent by the civil servant to architects Vincent and Goring Ltd under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
Civic Federation vice-chairman John Rhodes said: “I’m afraid that this evidence provides further confirmation of the widely-held view among the residents of Bishop’s Stortford that EHDC is incapable of either understanding or promoting the interests of the town.”
The row centres on the scheme to relocate both the Herts and Essex and Bishop’s Stortford high schools to a shared Green Belt site off Whittington Way, Thorley.
The secondaries’ existing campuses in London Road, Warwick Road and Beldams Lane would then be redeveloped for 700 homes, along with the Herts County Council plot earmarked for a new school in Hadham Road.
The civic federation has led the fight against the proposals, which were withdrawn almost exactly a year ago after concerted opposition – including 1,000 protest letters and a 4,000-signature petition – and a recommendation from EHDC officers that councillors on the development control committee should reject the scheme.
Mr Rhodes and his colleagues have long suspected that secret negotiations to resurrect the scheme were taking place and, as part of the FOI request, it has been confirmed that four meetings have taken place – but no records have been kept by the authority’s officers.
Correspondence suggests that a revised application – moving the super-school complex south of the Hertfordshire Way footpath with a new access onto Obrey Way – could be submitted by the end of this year.
In his letter to EHDC chief executive Ann Freimanis, Mr Rhodes says: “The clearly expressed wish of local people is for an additional school – not for enlarged versions of the existing schools relocated to a common site on the periphery of the town.
“In the light of this history, I would have expected that the planning department would have made it clear to the scheme promoters that no variation of their proposals on the same site had the slightest chance of being granted planning permission by EHDC and that they should look for an alternative way of meeting the need for additional school places which was consistent with the Local Plan and the wishes of local residents.”
However, in his emails, Mr Steptoe says: “We are keen to assist/be involved/work with you to avoid a situation where we could not support any scheme.” The council boss also talks of working jointly on a new scheme.
Mr Rhodes said: “They seem to show the EHDC planning department actively colluding in private with the scheme promoters to bring forward proposals whose aim and effect would be to undermine key aspects of the Local Plan as it applies to Bishop’s Stortford.
“People who move to Bishop’s Stortford rely on the Local Plan to inform them of the location of schools and of any development proposals.
“I trust that EHDC has taken account of its exposure to legal action if it transpires that, as a result of these negotiations with the scheme promoters, it has been giving what may turn out to be misleading and inaccurate replies to local search inquiries.”
Mr Rhodes demanded that Mr Steptoe be disqualified from taking any further part in the schools planning process and called for a full investigation.
EHDC declined to comment about the complaint while it takes legal advice and Richard Parsons, associate director of Stevenage-based Vincent and Goring, who corresponded with Mr Steptoe, was also tight-lipped.
Rodney Stock, chairman of governors at Bishop’s Stortford High and spokesman for the scheme, was unavailable as the
Observer went to press this week.