Bishop's Stortford Town Council is inviting tenders for landscaping and related works to create an extension to and parking space at the cemetery.  More details are available here

Bishop’s Stortford Town Council has announced the availability of up to £250,000 (in total) in grants to sports clubs and other sports bodies in the town.  The grants will be awarded to fund capital projects which have been fully costed and can be completed no later than 31st December 2023.  Applicants must demonstrate that there is a need for the investment requested, that it will directly benefit the residents of the town, and must to show how the project contributes to sustainability.  In addition to applications for the funds now available, the Council is also inviting ‘expressions of interest’ from sporting bodies which have ideas that are insufficiently mature to qualify for the present round of funding.  These ‘expressions of interest’ may be eligible for future funding and will contribute to the Council’s thinking on the development of sporting facilities. 

The grants and request for expressions of interest form a component of the Town Council’s strategic plan 2019-2023.  This plan includes investments in its cemeteries, allotments, recreation areas, the riverside and town centre, cycle infrastructure, sport and the arts.  Over £1M has been allocated already from a variety of sources including the ‘New Homes bonus’ and ‘S106’, both of which are  funds becoming available as a consequence of development and the Council will receive, during the period up to April 2026, a further £6.5M from the sale of the land now occupied by the Avanti Meadows Primary School.  This must be spent on capital projects and it is likely that a proportion will be allocated to sport.  The Council is considering investing in a sports centre to the North of the Town and is currently undertaking preliminary studies to establish the feasibility of such a venture.  The responses to the grants and ‘expressions of interest’ announced today will also help inform this potential project.

Cllr Keith Warnell, the Town Mayor says ‘the announcement of this tranche of grant funding is a first step by the Town Council in stimulating the next phase development of the Town’s Sports facilities.  It complements the activities of East Herts District Council and of course the excellent sports bodies in the town.  Its pleasing to be able plough back some of the proceeds of development in this way and we are looking forward to hearing from the sporting bodies with their plans and aspirations.

Application forms both for the grants currently announced and expressions of interest are available at www.bishopsstortfordtc.gov.uk/grants and responses must be received no later than 15th September 2021. 

NOTICE OF PUBLIC RIGHTS AND PUBLICATION OF UNAUDITED ANNUAL GOVERNANCE & ACCOUNTABILITY RETURN

ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 Sections 26 and 27
The Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/234)

NOTICE

1. Date of announcement Tuesday 29th June 2021

2. Each year the smaller authority’s Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) needs to be reviewed by an external auditor appointed by Smaller Authorities’ Audit Appointments Ltd. The unaudited AGAR has been published with this notice. As it has yet to be reviewed by the appointed auditor, it is subject to change as a result of that review.

Any person interested has the right to inspect and make copies of the accounting records for the financial year to which the audit relates and all books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers, receipts and other documents relating to those records must be made available for inspection by any person interested. For the year ended 31 March 2021, these documents will be available on reasonable notice by application to:

        Mark Westwood, Responsible Financial Officer
        The Old Monastery, Windhill, Bishop’s Stortford, CM23 2ND
        01279 712140, mark.westwood@bishopsstortfordtc.gov.uk

       commencing on Wednesday 30th June 2021

       and ending on   Tuesday 10th August 2021

3. Local government electors and their representatives also have:

• The opportunity to question the appointed auditor about the accounting records; and
• The right to make an objection which concerns a matter in respect of which the appointed auditor could either make a public interest report or apply to the court for a declaration that an item of account is unlawful. Written notice of an objection must first be given to the auditor and a copy sent to the smaller authority.

The appointed auditor can be contacted at the address in paragraph 4 below for this purpose between the above dates only.

4. The smaller authority’s AGAR is subject to review by the appointed auditor under the provisions of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 and the NAO’s Code of Audit Practice 2015. The appointed auditor is:

PKF Littlejohn LLP (Ref: SBA Team)
15 Westferry Circus
Canary Wharf
London E14 4HD

(sba@pkf-l.com)

5. This announcement is made by Mark Westwood, Responsible Financial Officer

View the Notice of Public Rights, Summary of Your Rights, Internal Audit Report 2020/21 and the Unaudited Annual Governance & Accountability Return 2020/21.

Join us for a unique Outdoor Cinema experience with mouth-watering food and drinks and some of the greatest films ever made and recent releases. Three family friendly films will be shown on 1 August on Sworders Field. The price of a ticket includes a headset and a deckchair.   

Tickets cost £13.50 per person and must be purchased in advance, to purchase your tickets please visit https://www.bishopsstortfordtc.gov.uk/shop/ or call 01279 715001.

For more Information and to view the seating plan click here. FAQs regarding this event can be found here

Help Name the Streets of Bishop’s Stortford!

The Town Council is seeking ideas for street names for new developments in Bishop’s Stortford.
All suggestions should have a Bishop’s Stortford historical link, and should fall into one of the following categories:

• Women of Bishop’s Stortford
• Key Historical Figures of Bishop’s Stortford
• Maltsters and Mills
• Monks and Nuns
• Headmasters and Headmistresses of Schools
• Shop Names, Trades and Shopkeepers
• Pubs, Taverns, Breweries and Landlords
• Camped Regiments
• Transport

If you would like to suggest one or more street names please send your name suggestions with a brief historical description to: street.naming@bishopsstortford.gov.uk

Please Note:
If the suggested name is of a person, that particular person must have passed away no less than fifty years ago. If they have passed away within fifty years, a letter from the person’s estate providing permission for their name to be used, must be provided.
In addition, we cannot guarantee your suggestion will be used, as the Post Office have veto on names.

Come and learn how to balance, spin and juggle with professional circus artists at Circus Pazaz at Sworders Field on 22 August! Perhaps you've always wanted to learn to juggle, or wondered how you can spin a plate on a stick. Or perhaps you would like to try your skills with balancing on a tight wire or unicycle? Join professional circus artists in their big top tent to learn all these skills and more!

There will be multiple 45 minutes sessions throughout the day starting from 10:30am. Tickets cost £1 per person and must be purchased in advance, to purchase your circus workshop ticket please visit www.bishopsstortfordtc.gov.uk/shop or call 01279 715001.

For more information click here

See more of Circus Pazaz here

Bishop’s Stortford Town Council is looking for bars, ice cream, and both sweet and savory food offering to attend our events this August.

Please email tic@bishopsstortford.org to be sent an expression of interest form. 

Please see our expression of interest form with details for both of our events:

Outdoor Cinema – Sunday 1 August 2021 – Sworder’s Field (Bishop’s Stortford)
Outdoor Theatre - Saturday 28 August 2021 – Monastery Gardens (Bishop’s Stortford)

Please read through the event information before returning your expression of interest.

If you are interested in trading, please send through all requested documentation with your completed form to tic@bishopsstortford.org. Forms that have not been completed in their entirety or forms with missing documents will not be considered.

Please note this expression of interest only.
 

The Farmers and Crafts Market will be back this Saturday (5 June) on North Street between 9:30 and 13:30. Check out the traders great selection of handmade products and delicious food, we can't wait to see you there! #bishopsstortford #mymarket

The Tourist Information Centre currently has copies of the British Red Cross Open Garden leaflets. Pop into the Tourist Information Centre to pick up a copy.

There are a range of open gardens in Bedfordshire, Cambridge and Essex open from May through to August.

The Town Council has vacancies for a Cemetery and Maintenance Manager and an Events Administrator.  Both are full time, interesting and varied posts.  For full details and to apply, visit our vacancies page