So, what happens to town traffic if Churchgate Development goes ahead?

Wandering through Hitchin his lunchtime I was struck by how small the roads are around the Market Square and along Sun Street and Bucklersbury.

So, if the Churchgate Shopping Centre revamp goes ahead where will all the extra traffic go? Known for its cobbled streets and quaint, crooked little buildings, will Hitchin Town Centre be suffocated by increased road traffic?

The imagery that the developers have released for public review and feedback shows idyllic looking scenes with little or no cars, vans or public transport.

Presently Bucklersbury and Sun Street operate a one way system and on Friday and Saturday nights, if you are the owner of a larger vehicle, you will struggle to drive up Bucklersbury as visitors to the town centre all part along the narrow road. Even if they part with two wheels on the kerb there is very little room to manoeuvre another vehicle past.

Charming as Hitchin is a brand new shopping complex will undoubtedly attract more visitors to the town and the existing infrastructure; car parks and roads are not presently up to the job of accommodating all the extra vehicles converging on the historic market square area of town.