Hitchin’s Member of Parliament Bim Afolami MP has written to newly-elected Hitchin North County Councillor Ian Albert to ask him and local Council colleagues to work with the MP to deliver on Eastern pedestrian and cycling access at Hitchin Station.
Mr Afolami has been campaigning to open up access to the Eastern side of the Station for some time. His conversations with Government Ministers over the second round of the Levelling Up Fund had put Hitchin into a good position to secure at least £10m of funding for the Eastern access, but delays at local Councils meant that a bid was not prepared in time.
Bim Afolami MP said,
“Opening up Eastern access to Hitchin Station for pedestrians and cyclists is one of our top priorities for Hitchin. Residents have told me about the positive impact that this will have. I remain committed to working with cross-Party colleagues from across Hitchin, North Hertfordshire and beyond to deliver this project – and I stand ready to work with Ministerial colleagues in Westminster to secure the support and funding we need.
“I am keen that we avoid the delays at local Government which derailed our previous efforts to deliver on this. We need strong political leadership from Councillors to make sure we are ready for future funding pots the Government will make available – including the third round of the Levelling Up Fund – and I’ll continue to work with them to ensure that this remains as a key priority.
“We also have an opportunity with new Active Travel funding to deliver a wider set of improvements to walking and cycling across Hitchin, which would allow us to really make the most of the opportunity presented by opening up Eastern access to make Hitchin a great place to walk and cycle. I hope we can seize these opportunities.”
