Speak Up Hertfordshire!

High Court success

Some good news from the High Court, where the Hertfordshire County Council has been successful in its challenge to parts of the East of England Plan, which proposes building another 83,200 houses in the county before 2021, including strategic housing and Green Belt releases at Hemel Hempstead, Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City and, in addition to that, very major growth to the north of Harlow in Hertfordshire for at least 10,000 dwellings and probably significantly more.

In the county council's view, the proposals for Hemel Hempstead, Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City came forward very late in the process without an adequate assessment of the implications of growth, of potential alternative locations and a lack of any meaningful opportunity for communities to have their say. At Harlow North, the county council has always opposed growth on the basis that it is effectively a new settlement with major environmental and infrastructure implications and for which alternative locations had not been explored across the Region.

On publication of the Plan by the Government in May 2008, the county council launched a legal challenge, principally on the basis that the Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Plan didn't properly consider alternatives to the proposals for Hemel Hempstead, Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City and Harlow North. St Albans City and District Council also submitted an almost identical legal challenge in relation to Hemel Hempstead and Hatfield/Welwyn Garden City.

The case was heard at the High Court in May 2009. The judge agreed with the county and St Albans councils on Hemel Hempstead, Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City, but not with the county council on Harlow North. The judge has ordered that the Government pay 80% of the county council's costs and 50% of those of St Albans.

The court is currently considering the views of the councils and the Government on what needs to happen to the Plan to put the judgment into effect. There is also now a period of time within which the Government must decide whether to appeal the judgment and for the county council to decide whether to apply for leave to appeal.

Rapid review of the East of England Plan

The East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) has started a rapid review of the East of England Plan for the region with a view to extending it to 2031 and enabling further rises in housing numbers.

The current Plan sets out a strategy to guide the planning and development of the East of England region to 2021, including economic development, housing, transport, waste management and tourism. The purpose of the Review is to extend the lifetime of the plan by ten years and look at whether the current housing numbers could be increased further.

Hertfordshire County Council and the county's ten district councils are united in their concern about the proposed increase in housing numbers, on top of what are already stretching targets. It is important to remember that the county council has issued a legal challenge against the existing plan based on concerns that the government failed to undertake a proper process to determine why such scale of development was needed in Hertfordshire and how the infrastructure required to support it might be provided. The challenge is due to be heard in court in spring 2009.

What is being proposed?

Target building rates for new homes in the current East of England Plan are over 4,000 a year across Hertfordshire, which are already ambitious - particularly in light of the current economic climate - and will mean encroaching onto green belt land in some areas. EERA is now looking at four different growth rates as part of their review. The highest level of figures proposed for the 2031 plan would boost building targets to over 7,000 new homes a year. These figures would make large-scale building on green belt land inevitable throughout the county.

How is the Review being undertaken?

To start the Review, EERA has commissioned three strands of work to inform the process. These are:

1. A 'request for advice' from strategic planning authorities in the Region (County and Unitary Councils) covering a range of matters, one of the most significant being to advise on how their areas could accommodate the four different indicative future scales of housing and employment growth and what the impacts would be.
2. A consultancy study exploring the case for and broad location(s) of potential parts of the Region suitable for major new settlement size development (20,000 dwellings+)
3. A 'Call for Proposals' for locations for potential housing and employment growth from the development industry/local authorities.

EERA will look at the information and advice provided by strategic planning authorities, consultants and developers in the region and is expected to consult the public on its plans in spring 2009.

EERA has committed to the hugely ambitious timetable of submitting alterations to the Plan to the Secretary of State by the end of 2009.

What is Hertfordshire's response?

Hertfordshire County Council, with support from all district councils, has submitted its initial verdict on the proposed housing figures for the Review of the East of England Plan (Regional Spatial Strategy) to 2031, based on officer advice. The report will be considered by Cabinet on the 19th January.

Through the cross-authority Hertfordshire Infrastructure and Planning Partnership, Hertfordshire's county and district councils have worked closely together and commissioned consultants to carry out an independent study to inform their response. The councils are unanimous in questioning the increased volume of new homes proposed and are urging further examination of the existing figures.

"While we agree that there is a need for more social and affordable housing, we have independent support that the increased scales of development being looked at are completely unrealistic," said Derrick Ashley, Executive Member for Planning, External Relations and Waste for Hertfordshire County Council. "The consultants have major concerns about even the lowest rates of development, which are the same as those proposed in the 2021 plan, let alone further growth. This is why our advice to EERA is to further examine the impacts of the 2021 figures before trying to find a way to shoehorn more homes into one of the most densely populated counties in the country."

Mr Ashley continued: "How can we be expected to look ahead to 2031 when the infrastructure for the 2021 figures is not being delivered? On top of transport problems, there are other areas of grave concern, such as the fact that the facilities needed to supply water to the new homes and to treat waste water take ten to 15 years to build.

"Aside from our concerns about the level of growth and lack of infrastructure, we continue to question the ridiculously tight deadline that government has imposed on EERA to deliver the 2031 plan. The timetable significantly limits opportunities for proper public consultation and certainly doesn't give us time to understand the long-term impacts of issues such as the credit crunch.

Mr Ashley concluded: "As well as full support from our district colleagues, who I thank for their input into our response, we are aware that other counties in the region share our concerns. We hope that EERA and the government will listen."

Hertfordshire's authorities are determined to ensure residents have an opportunity to respond to the proposals by raising awareness of EERA's public consultation when it begins later this year.