As mentioned in our October Newsletter please find below the Society’s letters/emails to the politicians and Welwyn Hafield’s recent Press Release on the Local Plan.

Letter to Michael Gove here

Email to Stephen Boulton, our Cabinet Member for planning here

Email to Grant Shapps here

Welwyn Hatfield Press Release here

Newsletter October 2021

In this issue:

• Local Plan Surprise
• Reviewing the Planning Review
• Hertsmere Local Plan
• Hazardous Waste planning application for Welham Green
• Society Membership

Local Plan Surprise

• The long running drama that is the Local Plan continues – and with a surprise!

• Avid readers will recall that in our last newsletter we left the Council with a deadline of 17 September to give the Inspector a “Final answer” to his demand for 15,200 dwellings.

• In August the Council wrote to the Inspector explaining they could not meet his timetable, proposing instead a response by 4 November following a special Council meeting. As far as can be ascertained, the Inspector did not respond to the Council but the Council took his silence for assent and proceeded with its own timetable.

• On 12 October, the six members of the Council’s Cabinet wrote to Michael Gove and asked him to clarify whether remarks by the Prime Minister at the Tory Party conference indicated a change of policy. Pending a response the Council suspended the timetable and cancelled the special Cabinet Planning and Parking Panel (CPPP) and Council meetings.  You can see the press release on our website here

• So: we no longer have a timetable and, at the time of writing, no idea what the response of the Inspector will be to this unilateral suspension of the process.

• However in writing to the Inspector to explain the delay, the Council is suggesting that it may still be able to approve proposed changes “so that the main modifications consultation can still commence before Christmas”. The CPPP meets on 11 November, full Council meeting on 17 November. Details here.

What should we do?

• This is not a new consultation stage but it is hugely important that we register again our opposition to overdevelopment in North Mymms and the sacrifice of Green Belt.

• We must make our views clear to our local councillors, our MP and to Michael Gove, the new Secretary of State at the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Write especially to Stephen Bouton as the Cabinet member for planning, even though he may not be your ward councillor.  The Society’s letters to Michael Gove, Grant Shapps and Councillor Boulton can be seen on our website here

• Many of you have previously written and been largely ignored. Please write/email again.  This is a new development and maybe, just maybe, there is a change in mood in central government.  See item about planning reform below.

• A summary of the Inspector’s findings on sites in North Mymms is attached as Appendix A

Review of the Planning Review

• In his September Cabinet reshuffle Boris Johnson sacked Robert Jenrick as the Secretary of State for Housing and Local Government and appointed Michael Gove who was immediately reported (and was subsequently confirmed) to be “pausing” Jenrick’s review of planning regulations.

• Boris then added his own ingredient to the mix with his Tory Party conference speech making The Daily Telegraph headline “PM pledges no homes on green fields”. It is this that has prompted Welwyn Hatfield councillors to act.

• Reports from the professional planning press indicate that the review of the review is considering “substantially watering down” some of the more controversial planning changes including the zonal planning system and the proposal for centrally-issued mandatory housing targets.

• It is this last bit that matters especially for us and timing is crucial. Any change which would allow councils to set their own targets must allow our council to take advantage of it before the Welwyn Hatfield local plan is finalised.  We have made this point in our letter to the Secretary of State.

• The new planning bill, still promised in the relatively near future, will be accompanied by a “full review” of the National Planning Policy Framework. We shall need to watch carefully that his continues to provide protection for the Green Belt.

The Hertsmere Local Plan

• On 11 October, Hertsmere Borough Council published a draft consultation document which includes proposals for Green Belt development on our boundaries to the south in Potters Bar and to the west near Colney Heath.

• As a result of the high numbers of early responses the Council has extended the deadline for consultation by two weeks to 5pm on Monday 6 December.

• Responses can be provided by completing an online survey under the “Have your Say” tab on the plan’s bespoke website here, submitting comments via the consultation portal also available on the website, emailing plan@hertsmere.gov.uk or writing to Local Plan Consultation, Hertsmere Borough Council, Elstree Way, Borehamwood WD6 9SR.

Hazardous Waste Planning Application

• As reported in the previous newsletter, waste management company BIFFA has applied to Herts County Council allowing it to use at a site at Welham Green for the transfer of hazardous waste. Comments on the application closed 12 August.  A decision is pending.  See here and search for PL/0217/21 for the details and the comments that have been made.

Society Membership

• Unfortunately due to pandemic restrictions over the last 18 months and our inability to send out the annual “green form”, our membership is somewhat down on previous years. We would be most grateful for members who have not yet done so to pay the annual subscriptions of £1 per family member using the membership form on our website here.  We would be most grateful for (and need) anything you may wish to add by way of donation.  We are living off the generosity of previous years.

• Please share this newsletter with your friends and neighbours and encourage them to join.

Appendix:  Site Summary for North Mymms

WeG1  Welham Manor and WeG3a Land at Station Road

About a 100 dwellings.  Development would be “sound”.

WeG10 Dixons Hill Road

About 120 dwellings could be found “sound” – but only if housing requirements for the Appendix:  Site Summary for North Mymms

village could not be met elsewhere.

WeG6 Skimpans Farm

About 70 dwellings.  Site could contribute to the five-year supply of housing.

WeG12 Land north of Pooleys Lane

About 80 dwellings.  The site could contribute to the five-year supply of housing.

WeG15 Land at Potterells Farm

About 150 dwellings.  Development of the whole site is unlikely to be found “sound” but part of the site could contribute to the five-year supply of housing.

WeG17 Land south of Dixons Hill Road

Possible site for a primary school – unlikely to be found “sound”.

HS21 and 23 Land at Golf Club Road  Brookmans Park

Two small sites already found to be “sound”.

HS22 (BrP4) Land west of Brookmans Park Railway Station

About 250 dwellings.  This site is included in the draft plan but the Council have sought to withdraw it.  The Inspector finds its inclusion to be “sound” and that there are exceptional circumstances to justify its removal from the Green Belt.

BrP1 Bell Lane

About 100 dwellings.  “Unless there is a genuine local need for additional housing that cannot be met in a more sustainable location and where exceptional circumstances for Green Belt release can be justified, then the development of this site is unlikely to be found sound”.

BrP12a Land north of Peplins Way

Over 100 dwellings.  The site could contribute to the five year supply of housing.

BrP34 Brookmans Park Transmitting Station

About 300 dwellings plus employment space.  Not a particularly sustainable site for a new residential development.  Unlikely to be found “sound”.

HS25 Land north of Hawkshead Road

35 dwellings.  Already found to be “sound”.

HS24  Land south of Hawkshead Road

About 100 dwellings.  Having included it in the draft plan the Council wished to withdraw this site.  The Inspector concluded “This is not a particularly sustainable location for a significant amount of new development”.

LEH4and5 Land at Videne and Studlands, Hawkshead Road

Development in this area would be less harmful to the Green Belt than development at site HS24.

In this issue:

• Local Plan Update
• Roundhouse Farm Planning Approval
• Hazardous Waste planning application for Welham Green
• NMDGBS

Local Plan Update

The Story so far…

• It would take too long to go back to the beginning!

• As reported in the April newsletter the Inspector had held a series of hearings in March on individual sites and on whether the Objectively Assessed Number(OAN) should be reduced from 16,000 as a result of more recent population projections from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). He was due to report his findings to the Council after the local elections in May.

Now read on…

• The Inspector has reported in six separate documents ( EX271 to EX276) which were published on the Council’s website on 9^th July.  here

• The OAN (now described FHOAN- Full Housing OAN) is reduced from 16,000 to 15,200. (Within that, as a slight amelioration, the “windfall allowance” has been raised by 509 dwellings to 1,809).

• We and others argued for a figure of around 10,000 as reflecting the latest ONS population projections for the Borough. The Council had said it should be 13,800 for which they could find 13,200.

• The Inspector has found that the majority of sites that he reviewed in March are acceptable for development from a Green Belt perspective (or could be made so with a bit of planting) with the result that he has identified sites with capacity for over 17,000 dwellings. The Council must decide which sites to include so as to meet the full 15,200 target (FHOAN) and present him with their proposals by 17^th September. If they fail he will declare the plan “unsound”.

How will the choice be made?
The Inspector has left the choice of sites to the Council but at the same time told them very clearly what they must do. “…the distribution of development should reflect the plan’s Development Strategy which requires a proportionate distribution of housing between the two main towns and the excluded villages. Having arrived at that in general numerical terms, you will then need to comparatively assess the weight of evidence determining exceptional circumstances to remove land from the green belt on a site by site basis in the different locations. Those sites that cause least harm to the green belt’s openness and purposes whilst at the same time favouring those that score best from a sustainability perspective should be chosen.”

• The Inspector has considered a number of sites which had been rejected by the Council because of the level of harm which would be caused to the Green Belt. Some of these the Inspector considers to be as suitable as sites which have been included; he brushes aside Green Belt concerns saying these can be ameliorated by local planting. He has also criticised the Council’s choice of site proposals as not reflecting the Council’s development strategy.

• The Inspector’s view on the individual sites is set out in his report EX273.  A summary for North Mymms sites is included as an appendix to this newsletter.

More Consultation? Not Yet!

• At this stage the process requires the council to propose “Main Modifications” to the existing Draft. Provided these meet the Inspector’s requirements, there will be a public consultation for a period of at least six weeks before the Council finally adopts the plan. This is a few months away.

• Speaking for the Council, Councillor Stephen Boulton is reported by the Welwyn Hatfield Times to be “bitterly disappointed” at the Inspector’s decision on the FHOAN. There is no suggestion that the Council will consult local people before making their decisions though the same WHT report says that they “will share our more detailed response shortly”. Now that the Conservatives have a majority again this will be their decision – first consulting amongst their caucus and then voting at a full Council meeting – presumably on 16^th September.

• We need to let them know what we feel about sustainable development and protecting the Green Belt in our area. Local Councillor Paul Zukowskyj, also quoted in the WHT, is highly critical of the 20% increase in Welwyn Hatfield homes and the damage to be done to the Green Belt ”Once it’s gone, it’s gone for ever.”

• These targets are being imposed on local people by central government working through the Planning Inspectorate. Please make your views known to your local councillors. Their details can be found on the Council’s website.

Roundhouse Farm Bullens Green

• Last year the Council received a planning application for about 100 houses at Roundhouse Farm in Bullens Green. The site straddled the local boundary with St Albans and both Councils declined permission. There were many objectors, including NMDGBS; the site was in the Green Belt and had not been put forward for consideration for the local plan for either council.

• The applicants appealed and in a decision issued on 14^th June, the application was granted by the Inspector who heard the appeal. You can see the decision  here  It is more than disappointing to see how easily harm to the Green Belt is dismissed.

• It is not clear what, if anything can be done to reverse or mitigate this decision which is another example of central government overriding local decisions in favour of “Build, build build”. We have protested to Grant Shapps and letters from our vice President Claire Taylor, were published in the WHT and Daily Telegraph. In addition the Chairman of the London Green Belt Council, of which NMDGBS is a member, has written to the Prime Minister. Texts are available on our website.  here  Please add your voice to the protests.

Planning Application to carry out hazardous waste operations in Welham Green

• An application to allow the trans-shipment of hazardous waste on the Welham Green industrial site (which is not within the Green Belt) has been made to the Herts County Council by BIFFA who already have an operation next to the site in question. BIFFA wish to transfer their existing hazardous waste operation from Stevenage and benefit from consolidating their operations at Welham Green. It will generate at least 70 traffic movements per day.

• At this stage it is not entirely clear what handling operations would be involved. It is not anticipated that there would be any disposal of hazardous waste at the site, and in this sense, the operation is very different from the incinerator proposal at New Barnfield which was defeated in 2016. Nevertheless it represents an important change of use and the application needs careful scrutiny. Consultation continues till 13th August.

• See here and search for PL/0217/21 for the details and a portal to comment.

Your Society

AGM

• The society’s AGM was opened via a zoom meeting on 26^th April and adjourned until such time as we could hold a public meeting. Our intention had been to combine this with a further consultation on the Local Plan. We still think this is a sensible approach even though further consultation on the Plan has been delayed. The AGM documents are available on our website. here

• In the meantime we would welcome, indeed we need, new blood into the Committee. If you would like to know more please contact the Secretary or Chairman by email through the website.secretary@northmymmsgreenbelt.org.uk or chairman@northmymmsgreenbelt.org.uk

Membership

• Notwithstanding the pandemic and our inability to send out the annual “green form”, membership is holding up well but we would be grateful for members who have not yet done so to pay the annual subscription of £1.00  using the membership form on our website .here  We would be most grateful for (and need) anything you may wish to add by way of donation. We are living off the generosity of previous years. Please also take the opportunity to check that we have your membership details correctly.

Appendix: Site Summary for North Mymms

WeG1 Welham Manor and WeG3a Land at Station Road

About a 100 dwellings Development would be “sound”

WeG10 Dixonshill Road
About 120 dwellings could be found “sound” – but only if housing requirements for the

village could not be met elsewhere.

WeG6 Skimpans Farm
About 70 dwellings; Site could contribute to the five-year supply of housing.

WeG12 Land north of Pooleys Lane
About 80 dwellings The site could contribute to the five-year supply of housing.

WeG15 Land at Potterells Farm
About 150 dwellings Development of the whole site is unlikely to be found “sound” but part of the site could contribute to the five-year supply of housing.

WeG17 Land south of Dixons Hill Road
Possible site for a Primary school- unlikely to be found “sound”.

HS21 and 23 Land at Golf Club Road Brookmans Park
Two small sites  already found to be “sound”.

HS22 (BrP4) Land west of Brookmans Park Railway Station
About 250 dwellings. This site is included in the draft plan but the Council have sought to withdraw it. The inspector finds its inclusion to be “sound” and that there are the exceptional circumstances to justify its removal from the Green Belt.

BrP1 Bell Lane
About 100 dwellings. “Unless there is a genuine local need for additional housing that cannot be met in a more sustainable location and where exceptional circumstances for Green Belt release can be justified, then the development of this site is unlikely to be found sound”

BrP12a Land north of Peplins Way
Over 100 dwellings. The site could contribute to the five year supply of housing.

BrP34 Brookmans Park Transmitting Station
About 300 dwellings plus employment space. Not a particularly sustainable site for new residential development. Unlikely to be found “sound”.

HS25 Land North of Hawkshead Road
35 dwellings. Already found to be “sound”.

HS24 Land South of Hawkshead Road
About 100 dwellings. Having included it in the draft plan the Council wished to withdraw this site. The Inspector concluded “This is not a particularly sustainable location for a significant amount of new development.”

LEH4&5 Land at Videne and Studlands, Hawkshead Road
Development in this area would be less harmful to the Green Belt than development at site HS24.

Roundhouse Farm, Land Off Bullens Green Lane.

Outline application for the erection of up to 100 dwellings, including 45% affordable and 10% self-build, together with all ancillary works (All matters reserved except access)

An Appeal against the decision of Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council and St Albans City Council to refuse planning permission for the above application has been upheld.  See here

It is not clear whether there is any action we can take other than express our dismay to the local press and political representatives.  A letter from our Vice President, Claire Taylor, published in Saturday’s Daily Telegraph is shown here

Election Candidates’ Statements on the Local Plan

NMDGBS has asked all the candidates standing for our two North Mymms wards in the Borough Council election for a statement on their views on the Local Plan. Specifically we have asked them whether or not they will support the Plan if the Inspector insists on the Plan meeting a Full Objectively Assessed Housing Need (FOAHN) of 16,000 dwellings.

We have received responses as follows.

From Teresa Travell, Conservative Party candidate for Welham Green and Hatfield South

“As chairman of North Mymms Parish Council I have appeared at the hearings held by the inspector and our position has always been against excessive building on the green belt. If elected to the borough council I will not support an increase in housing numbers to 16,000.  Throughout the Local Plan hearings I have always considered the number of proposed houses to be too high. I even consider the number of over 13,000 in the latest submission to be an unsatisfactory increase. It is important that local democracy is preserved and that the very strong feelings locally are respected by the inspector.”

Peter Basford, Richard Griffiths and Paul Zukowskyj, Lib Dem, candidates for the two wards, have given us a joint statement of their party’s policy which they support.

“The Welwyn Hatfield Local Plan is a plan to build way more houses than we actually need. The inspector and the council seem unwilling to believe the evidence provided by the statistics and are being driven instead by Government policy to ‘build build build’. The local Lib Dems do not believe a housing target in five figures is right or can be justified. The council should have put up a far more convincing argument against the projection. If the local plan has a housing target of 13,800 or even 16,000, the Lib Dems will vote against, as we did in November 2020 at full council, the only party to do so. Damage to our area from speculative developers is no different to damage to our area from a plan not fit for purpose.”

From Stephen Boulton Conservative Party candidate for Brookmans Park and Little Heath

“I am very much against any increase of assessed housing need to 16,000, and cannot see a way in which that figure can be supported. Throughout iterations of the Local Plan process I have always considered the number of dwellings suggested to be too high given historical evidence and uncertainty in future numbers. The recently submitted target of 13,800 is still a significant and uncomfortable increase. I shall review the inspector’s report once available and determine the best way forward at that point. In making any decision, my priority will always be to minimise any impact on the very important green belt and to respect local opinions. Any final plan must be the council’s plan and not the inspector’s plan.”

We shall publish additional replies if and as they are received.

AGM 2021.

Note from the Chairman about the AGM arrangements

We are very sorry that because of Covid restrictions it is not possible to hold our AGM in the usual way.  Rather than wait indefinitely until we can hold a public meeting, we have decided in effect to hold the meeting in two parts.

The first part will be conducted virtually through Zoom with the only resolution to be presented being a formal resolution to adjourn the meeting until such future date as we can get together without the Covid restrictions. The required quorum of 15 members is assured.

We did look at sending out the Zoom link to the membership generally but concluded that it would be impracticable to try and hold such a large virtual meeting. We hope members will understand.

Once we can meet in public, the meeting will be reconvened to deal with the full agenda. The current members of the Committee will continue in post until the adjourned meeting.

We anticipate that the Council will be holding a further public consultation on the Local Plan in the Summer. If possible we shall organise a public meeting at that time and will continue the adjourned AGM then.

The Notice of the meeting, The Agenda, Minutes of the AGM 2020, Chairman’s Report and Financial Statements are all available here on the website.

Agenda  here 

Minutes of 2020 AGM  here

Financial Statement  here

Chairman’s Report here

Notice of the meeting was published in the April Newsletter.

 In this issue:

• Local Plan Update
• Local Elections
• Society AGM
• Your Support

Local Plan Update

• The Inspector held a series of virtual examination hearings throughout March at which the Society was represented through our planning advisor, Jed Griffiths. Members of our committee worked with Jed on the representations and visited the sites with him ahead of the hearings.

• Representatives from Water End Residents Group, Little Heath Action Group and Bell Lane Action Group (BLAG) were also involved in the hearings.

• Our written representations  on the sites and other matters are available on our website

• You can also watch video recordings of the hearings. click  here

• We must now await the Inspector’s report which will be presented to the Council sometime after the local elections in May.

• On the overall numbers –  the Objectively Assessed Number (OAN) –  the best indication of the Inspector’s thinking can be found in his notes to the council after the recent hearings,. EX253 Inspector’s Stage 9 round-up notes 18.3.21  click here

• There, the Inspector states that the Plan must provide for the housing numbers in full. That number will be his decision but he has yet to say what it will be. It is clear that the Inspector’s decision on the final OAN will be absolutely critical in terms of the amount of Green Belt land which will be lost to housing.

• Developers are pressing for an OAN of 16,000 as previously agreed by the inspector; the council now say it should be 13,800.

• We and others argue for a figure of around 10,000 as reflecting the latest ONS population projections for the Borough. With CPRE Herts we submitted a paper by experienced town planner, Professor Alan Wenban-Smith, to support our position and worked and other local groups to present a united view.

• The difference is about meeting the genuine needs of the Borough versus the ever-present market demand from London. That is the argument, not just for North Mymms and Welwyn Hatfield but across the whole of the Green Belt in Hertfordshire.

• The government declares its policy is to protect the Green Belt; but it also wants to “build, build, build.” The Inspector has his eye on national government policy.

•  As regards the individual sites in North Mymms it is difficult to speculate; it would appear from the Inspector’s Interim Report and his rounding up session at the end of Stage 9, that sites Marshmoor (WeG4a), South of Hatfield (HS11), Welham Manor and Station Road (WeG3a), and Land to the West of Brookmans Park (BrP4) are likely to be recommended for inclusion in the Local Plan. For Little Heath, it seems likely that sites LHe1 and LHe4/5 will also be recommended, together with a reduced area of BrP7.  In the course of the hearings, the most controversial matter was the debate on site BrP1 at Bell Bar, involving the Society and the Bell Bar Action Group (BLAG).

• What Happens Next? From the Inspector’s notes of the Stage 9 rounding-up session, it would appear that the end of the Examination is in sight.  At the time of writing the Borough Council is in purdah, until after the elections on 6^th May. The Inspector has stated that he intends to produce a draft of his final report, together with a list of Main Modifications to the Local Plan, for the consideration of the new Council.  If the Council accept the Inspector’s report, there will be a further six-week period of consultation on the Main Modifications.  We shall consult members and if possible hold a public meeting.

• There is provision in the Local Plan Regulations for further hearings to be held into the Main Modifications, if these are necessary. Following that, the Inspector will issue his final report to the Council. Only at that point will the Examination be over.

• It is expected that, if the Borough Council accept the Inspector’s report and its recommendations, the Local Plan will be formally adopted in the autumn of this year.

Local Elections

• On 4th May, three Borough Council seats will be up for election in the wards covering North Mymms Parish: two seats in Welham Green and Hatfield South, one in Brookmans Park and Little Heath.

• Details of the elections and the candidates can be found on the Council’s website here. Please use your democratic rights.

• The Society is writing to all the candidates for these seats to ask whether they support the target of 16,000 dwellings in the local plan and what they will do if the Inspector insists on this number. Their answers will be published on our website.

Society AGM

 We are very sorry that because of Covid restrictions we have not been able to hold our AGM in March as usual. Rather than wait indefinitely until we can hold a public meeting, we, like many organisations, will use Zoom. We shall open the meeting formally and then adjourn it until such date as we can get together without the Covid restrictions.  That means the only resolution to be proposed at the meeting will be to adjourn.  A quorum for the meeting is assured.  The current members of the Committee will continue in post until the adjourned meeting is reconvened.

• The Agenda for the meeting, Minutes of last year’s meeting, Chairman’s Report and Financial Statements will be posted on the website.

• Accordingly, “Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Society will be held via Zoom on Monday 26th April 2021 at 7.30pm.”

• As explained above, we anticipate that the Council will be holding a further public consultation on the Local Plan in the Summer. If possible we shall organise a public meeting at that time and will continue the adjourned AGM then.

• We hope you will understand the need for these arrangements. If you have any questions, please get in touch through the website.

Your Support

• The Society has just over one thousand members. Thank you very much. Your support is the essence of our existence; without it we could not defend the Green Belt in this area as we do.

•  Membership subscriptions, at one pound (£1.00) per head, are payable for the calendar year and are now due.

• As our usual “green” membership subscription form cannot be delivered, please will you pay your subscription using the membership form on our website. We would be most grateful for (and need) anything you may wish to add by way of donation. We are living off the generosity of previous years. Please also take the opportunity to check that we have your membership details correctly.

Committee Membership.

• During the year we have lost committee members through illness, resignation and departure from the district. We urgently need new blood. Please get in touch if you can help us, particularly as regards communications and the website.

• If you would like to know more without obligation, contact the Secretary or the Chairman through the website. secretary@northmymmsgreenbelt.org.uk or hairman@northmymmsgreenbelt.org.uk

WELWYN HATFIELD LOCAL PLAN EXAMINATION STAGE 9 HEARINGS

Jed Griffiths, MA Dip TP FRTPI, our Planning Consultant, has prepared on our behalf the following Responses and Statements for the Local Plan Examination Stage 9 Hearings which will be held virtually.  All these sessions can be viewed on Welwyn Hatfield District Council’s  website under Local Plan.

WEEK 1

Monday 22 February 09.30 – 17.00   EX223 Treatment of Green Belt Boundaries.  To view our Response click here

Tuesday 23 February 09.30 – 17.00 Fully Objectively-Assessed Housing Needs.  To view our Response click here

Wednesday 24 February 09.30 – 17.00 EX221 Windfalls.  To review our Response click here

Timetable for Hearing Sessions scheduled for 1 to 18 March are still to be finalised.

Please see below Statements prepared by Jed Griffiths on our behalf for these Hearing Sessions.

EX237 Further Sites for Housing Development submitted to the Examination by the Council click here

EX238 Potential Additional Sites, for Housing Development at Villages excluded from the Green Belt click here