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[AL10]

http://www.whtimes.co.uk/content/whtimes/news/htc/story.aspx?brand=WHTOnline&category=HTCregeneration&tBrand=HertsCambsOnline&tCategory=HTCregeneration&itemid=WEED04%20Jun%202008%2011%3A58%3A05%3A013



IT is clear there are legitimate commercial reasons why the regeneration has been put on hold. Quite righly everyone, including the WHT, is keen for the project to go ahead when the retail market picks up. In the meantime the existing centre must be spruced up and shops made available for short-term leases. We will be meeting regularly with both St Modwen and the council in a bid to secure the best possible town for Hatfield in the short-term - and ensure that the project goes ahead as planned in the future.

How is it clear? When pressed, nobody from St Modwens or our shambles of a council can give a straight answer, instead just mumbling about this 'Credit Crunch' wotsname thats been blamed for everything from England not playing in the Euros to the poor quality of contestant in this years Big Brother! Finchy Paul Smith Fish has clearly gone on holiday again (why else would he decline to follow up on his 'all is well, its just a nasty rumour' comments?) Rupert Wood understands the need for proper channels of communication, makes one post then disappears, and John Dean is well informed, but knows less about the fiasco than anyone!

So Terry if you're reading, please let us know how the Credit Crunch is to blame, i.e specifically how you can possibly know that potential retailers aren't taking up units because of this, and how it is known that this economic instability will be resolved by 2009?

I've emailed this to him as well, just incase like ;-)

[pjb]

Be fair, he doesn't say it's the credit crunch.  He cites "legitimate commercial reasons", and retailers not signing up for leases would be one reason.  Quite possibly the slowing in the housing market is another.

The more important questions are why the town centre redevelopment was structured the way it was ie why did the council get so many bodies involved and give them seeming endless timescales instead of getting it done and then selling the homes and shops if appropriate , why it took so long to get this far (although having to get a compulsory purchase order won't have helped move things along) and what they are going to do to get it back on track and to resuscitate Hatfield in the meantime.

We should all have taken more interest in the nitty-gritty of the plans, including the commercial structure, from the start.  Because most people were pleased that something was going to be done we didn't subject the whole scheme to proper scrutiny.  And WHT has to take its share of the blame for that.

[Broadside]

AL10,
Well done.
Just a quickie....... if you get into any  meaningful dialogue please point out that this St.Modwens
development is NOT about shops it is about apartments - 300 of them, which should yield St.Mods
a cool £20million profit alone.
The property market is in decline, prices are falling and it is this aspect alone that is the crucial
factor for them
After 3 or 4 years, and pre credit crunch, you'd have thought they'd have more than one measly budget shop lined up wouldn't you - if they really cared about a vibrant retail centre?

Perhaps old Tel would care to comment about St.Mods convenient excuse of only starting to build
when 50% of the shoppy things are sold?
Would he also care to comment on the possibility that as St.Mods can levy their own charges and
invite whoever suits them - then it is they, St.Modwens, who control who comes in if and whenever
it suits them.

[Mighty Hatfield]

to summarise, NOTHING is clear and the reasons given would only be legitimate if they were building a new housing estate, not a town centre. But then thats the truth behind this all along, its all about the flats, a mere sprinkling of shops. No pubs,  oh no, nothing to harm the sale of those lovely lucrative flats.

In short, Terry should stick to what he knows, and edit a newspaper instead of passing comment on what he thinks is going on with the economy.

We arent idiots Terry, stop treating us as such.

[Mighty Hatfield]

and thank you very much for completely ignoring the petition collection in Hatfield Town Centre Farmers Market last Saturday, but bigging up your chum Grants one in WGC which you of course attended, despite having very little clue as to what you are protesting about.

And im not even mentioning the bizzare obsession with Lewis Hamilton that the paper has.....

Have you had a response yet AL10?

 

[AL10]

Nope, no response whatsoever.

[Broadside]

I've just logged in at 12.30pm and noticed that the WHTimes were also active on this Forum at
the same time-ish. Perhaps they've been tipped off that something more is required of them.
Perhaps we should start a new topic  entitled 'Hatfield Town Centre - Community Questions'
and get Mike Hobday, Paul Z , Grant & the WHTimes to seek out proper responses.
There's still a helluva lot left unanswered.
In todays edition Council CEO Mich Saminaden offers  a lame attempt at assuaging us all how lucky
we are to have them. Sorry Mich but the content of your letter  was  nothing more than a clutching at straws effort at supporting the Council leadership - just as the WHTimes has done and Roupert
Woods of St.Modwens.
Just look at how cheesed off Panshanger folk are regarding the £5.5million redevelopment of their
Moors Walk shops.
By contrast poor old Hatfield folk can only dream of having £5.5million spent on their town.
The Government watchdog gave our Council a poor 2star rating and yet we live in an affluent
part of Britain.
Why is that?

[AL10]

9 days on, no response.

Paul Smith has received two emails from me, no response.

[Rocket_fan]

Since signing the agreement between WHBC & St Modwen it has come to my attention that St Modwen have not marketed the redevelopment so how do they expect to sell 50% of the units before the commence the rebuilding of our Town Centre  - And who from our disgraceful Council is monitoring the situation 

[AL10]

17 days on, no response

FinchyFishSmith  - no email response, a tame 'i look forward to the redevelopment' comment on here.


Not good enough I'm afraid.

[Rocket_fan]

Does Terry know anything else with the regeneration looming again