Letter to the Herts Advertiser 21st January 2021
Dear Editor,
We all know now that the 'high street' in our cities and towns is in trouble. The change in retail habits, with the dominance of internet companies, and the Covid-19 pandemic means that our city centres will never be the same. The Government is hurrying along the process of change by altering the 'change of use' categories and expanding permitted development. The general drift is for commercial and office premises to be converted into residential – for example planning permission has been granted to convert Club Veeda on Adelaide Street into 4 two-bedroom and 2 one-bedroom flats (The Herts Advertiser, 7 Jan 2021), there are plans being put forward to create residential apartments in 1 and 3, 61-65 and 67 St Peter's Street.
Even if we wanted to, we will not be able to turn the clock back, the dominance of retail in the high street is a thing of the past and the housing crisis requires us to find more homes, so conversion to residential will continue and that is not necessarily a bad thing. However, at the moment development appears to be opportunistic, arbitrary and there are real concerns about the quality of proposals. If we want to ensure we have a well-balanced and attractive city centre, that acts as a community hub, there needs to be some vision and planning. The only statutory control the local authority has at present over development in the city centre is the out-of-date 1994 Local Plan.
In order to have a city centre where people want to go, we need to have a new City Centre Vision which responds to the changes in retail culture, the climate crisis and the aspirations and values of our citizens. It is to achieve these aims that a steering group from the Business Improvement District is in the mandatory process of establishing a Neighbourhood Forum that can produce a legally binding Neighbourhood Plan which will shape the development of St Albans City Centre for the future. If you live or work in the city centre and would like to find out more or join the Neighbour Forum please email: stalbansvision@gmail.com
And be reassured, even if you live outside the city centre and have a view, your voice can be heard as the Neighbourhood Forum is required to consult widely.
Prof Tim Boatswain,
Chair of City Centre Vision (Business Improvement District) Steering Group
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