Construction is set to begin on a major regeneration project at Bishop’s Stortford station which will see the transformation of a former Goods Yard site into an exciting new gateway to the town.
Work on the £200 million development, delivered at no cost to the taxpayer, will deliver 500 new homes, a new station square and transport enhancements. Contractors will arrive on Monday 8 October 2018 to clear the former car park site opposite the station in preparation for construction to start.
The first phase of the development will see 149 new homes built, as well as the offices, retail space and the hotel. A 401-space multi-storey car park will also be delivered as part of the first phase and is expected to open in summer 2019.
The scheme will also provide a range of station and transport enhancements including additional station car parking, better cycle and pedestrian links, a brand-new bus route and a new two-way road providing better links through the site to the town centre.
The redevelopment of the Bishop’s Stortford Goods Yard site is being delivered by Solum, a Network Rail and Kier Property joint venture. Solum will be hosting a stall at Bishop’s Stortford Farmer’s Market on Saturday 6 October 2018, where residents can find out more about the scheme. The dedicated project website – www.goodsyardsite.co.uk – has also been updated and allows residents to sign up to a newsletter.
Solum will also be partnering with Premier Inn to deliver the 85-bed hotel and Bellway Homes to deliver the initial retail units and homes in this first phase of development. The infrastructure for this development will be delivered by Joseph Gallagher, a leading UK based Civil Engineering and tunnelling sub-contractor.
Matthew Serginson, Development Director with Solum, said:
“We are pleased that construction work will be starting so quickly. Solum will oversee the Goods Yard regeneration and directly deliver the infrastructure including the new road, transport interchange and car park.
“We are delighted to bring in both Bellway and Premier Inn as development partners on this major project. Their expertise will enable us to bring forward development faster than we could on our own.
“All efforts will be made to minimise any inconvenience on our neighbours and travellers using the railway station. We will be keeping people informed of the works as they progress and will set up a telephone hotline for people to raise any comments with us directly.”
David Biggs, Managing Director with Network Rail Property, added:
“The Goods Yard regeneration is a great example of Network Rail partnering with the private sector to unlock land to deliver much needed housing, attract new businesses and support economic growth, while improving station and transport links.
“Helping to create exciting new hubs in key locations, while increasing housing options, is a key component of our development programme and it’s clear this project will deliver significant benefits for Bishops Stortford, station users and the local community.
“In addition to the local benefits, the scheme will generate funds to be reinvested back into the railway, helping to further reduce our reliance on the public purse.”
Greg Allsop, Sales Director, Bellway comments:
“We are excited to be involved in such a significant regeneration project. Our role is to create a substantial collection of new homes that will offer stylish, contemporary, competitively priced accommodation. The bulk of the homes in the first phase will be one and two-bedroom apartments, available under the Help to Buy scheme.”
The level of station car parking will be retained throughout the development, and ultimately increased when the project is finally completed. In June 2017, a new temporary car park was opened to enable the first phase of construction to come forward on the former car park. A second multi-storey station car park will be built in a later phase, increasing the number of spaces to almost 1,000.
