The Public Square

This page gives a summary of the Old River Lane Public Square Consultation results.

Who took part?

A total of 1030 responses were received through the consultation

  • Online: 730 responses (544 of which were fully completed, 186 partial)
  • CCR: 244 responses
  • Hard copy: 54

CCR targeted people “in the street” and specifically those from a younger age demographic. Online responders were a fairly even mix across 31 – 45, 46 – 60 and the 61+ age groups. The hard copy responders were mostly in the 61+ age group. 
Across all formats, woman were more likely to take part than men. The vast majority of responders said they live in Stortford and come to the town centre often.

What did they say?

Question 4: To what extent do you like the proposed idea for a public square?

  • 61.5% of those online said they really like or quite liked the overall idea. This dropped to 57% for the 61+ age group
  • For those taking part in the hard copy surveys, 79% said they like or really like the idea, dropping to 75% for those over 61.
  • In CCR’s research, 87% of those aged 16-18 liked or really liked the idea, dropping to 68.9% for those aged 46 - 60

Question 5: What do you think of the proposed idea for a Pavilion?

  • 59% of responders online said they really or quite liked the proposal, this dropped to 52% for those aged 61+
  • For those responding via hard copy, 65% really or quite liked the proposal, increasing to 69% for those aged over 61.
  • CCR found that 92.7% of 16 – 18 year olds really or quite liked the proposal, dropping to 69.3% for those aged 46 – 60
  • Overall from all the questions the Pavilion seemed to be the option with gathered the most amount of ‘don’t really like’ and ‘really dislike’ responses. This was 15% for the hard copy responses, rising to 19% for those aged 61+ and 25% for the online responses, rising to 27% for those aged 61+

Question 6: To what extent do you feel the seating will compliment the square and make it a place people want to come

  • 70% of those taking part online said they really or quite liked this idea. This increased to 79% for those aged 61+
  • 77% of those taking part in the hard copy really or quite liked the idea, with those aged 61+ about the same (75%)
  • In the CCR research 96% of 16 – 18 yr olds really or quite liked the idea, dropping to 84.4% for those aged 46 - 60

Question 7: What do you think of the proposed green edges for the site?

  • 80.1% of those taking part online quite or really liked this proposal. This was about the same for those aged 61+ (79%)
  • 93.7% of those taking part in the hard copy said they liked or really liked the idea, roughly the same as those aged 61+
  • CCR found that 96% of 16 – 18 yr olds liked or really liked the idea. This dropped to 84.6% for the 46 – 60 group

Question 8: What sort of events would like to use the space for?

  • Those taking part online said markets, followed by open air performances and a place to visit and relax. Those aged 61+ had the same priority list however a place to meet friends was joint third
  • Those taking part in the hard copy survey said markets, open air performances followed by arts exhibitions/ family and children’s activities (joint third). Those aged 61+ felt had the same priority list except a place to visit and relax was third
  • CCR found that a place to visit and relax was the most popular, followed by a place to meet friends and then markets

General themes from written comments:

A lot of text has been provided covering a range of issues. As this is qualitative information we have not attempted to rank or prioritise it in any way however some general themes include:

  • Requests to use the space as a car park, not demolish Charrington’s House and not proceed with the overall development
  • Unhappiness about the arts centre no longer being provided
  • Concern that the open space, and pavilion in particular will attract anti-social behaviour
  • Concern that it will not have the needed support infrastructure (eg. toilets)
  • Practical suggestions for use (eg. Different types of events)
  • Practical suggestions for aspects such as seating and green edges

Conclusions:

  • There is strong support for the overall proposals. Even the least popular element – the pavillion – only had 1 out of 4 people saying they disliked it online (and less in hard copy and via CCR)
  • Generally speaking, those in the younger groups are more likely than those in the older groups to be supportive of the proposal
  • However even in the older groups, a majority of responders are still generally in favour
  • Markets seem to the priority event that people would like to see, following by open air performances and a place to visit/ relax

Please see the full results:

What happens next?

  • This feedback will be used to finalise designs for the square which will be given to Cityheart
  • Cityheart will then include this in their planning application for the overall Old River Lane site. When planning is approved, Cityheart will build the square to The Council’s specification.
  • When the development is complete, East Herts will retain ownership of the public square
     
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