On 23rd January 2020, the WPAG lodged two questions with the WHBC Cabinet Planning & Parking Panel (CPPP) in regard to the four additional sites proposed for Welwyn following the WHBC’s 2019 Call for (further) Sites . They relate to sites identified as: Wel 1, Wel 2, Wel 6 and Wel 15

The two questions and the replies are listed as “No.5 Russell Haggar” and “No.6 Welwyn Planning and Amenity Group” in the Cabinet Planning and Parking Panel Public Questions on 23rd January 2020 document. Both the WPAG Chair and Vice-Chair were invited to speak at short notice at the meeting of WHBC CPPP on 23rd January and their submissions can be seen and heard on the webcast of the meeting (at the broadcast times of 00:20:03 and 00:23:06)

QUESTION 5: Asked by Russell Haggar, Vice Chair, WPAG

WPAG question the accuracy of the WHBC Environment Statement that there are bus stops within 400m of the development sites.

Added to which the roads in neighbouring areas towards Hawbush are narrowly restricted with substantial levels of on-street parking. A full-sized bus would struggle to operate around these roads, or pass along School Lane.  The current bus service could not in any practical sense constitute a service for the projected 248 new homes, and not therefore offset the environmental impact, despite what is stated in the sustainability assessment for the four proposed development sites.

Similarly, statements in the sustainability assessment about proximity to ‘institutes for training and lifelong learning’ are similarly inaccurate and misleading.

QUESTION 6: Asked by Sandra Kyriakides, Chair, WPAG.

This question about Singlers Marsh was partly answered at the CPPP meeting itself.

WHBC confirmed that an area of land from within Singlers Marsh would be needed for the proposed development, and that WHBC is the ‘third party landowner’ referred to as supplying that land. 

We learned too that WHBC had confirmed its willingness to enter into an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the developer if the site is taken forward.

WPAG considers that the level of information provided by WHBC in their response and analyses to the Singlers Marsh questions to be very poor. WPAG has therefore made an official request for WHBC to provide full details of the authorities with which it consulted in connection with the proposed road- and bridge-widening at Singlers Marsh, together with archaeological, environmental and other sustainability assessments for the proposed sites Wel 1, Wel 2, Wel 6 and Wel 15.

WPAG has received an acknowledgement of this request, with a commitment to reply within four weeks. But we note that should that reply be insufficient, it seems that any
subsequent clarification will fall beyond the end of the upcoming consultation period.

Conclusion

For the above reasons, WPAG asked that the proposals for Wel 1, Wel 2, Wel 6 and Wel 15 be withdrawn from the Local PLan recommendations for the following reasons:

1. Proof of thorough, appropriate and adequate consultation procedures has not been provided.
2. Water company and nature agency responses have yet to be seen with regard to ascertaining the projected effect of the extra run-off and drainage from 248 houses on the flood risk and ecology of Singlers Marsh, and on the River Mimram’s wellbeing – given that these are currently open fields and a designated local nature reserve situated within the Green Belt.
3. Wel 15 lies below the slope down from the cemetery, making it a questionable location for housing development given the potential for migration over time of buried items due to the influence of weather and nature.
4. A full archaeological assessment of Wel 15 and Singlers Marsh should be carried out. Not only is Wel 15 the presumed heart of the original Roman village, and therefore the most sensitive spot archaeologically, but also the southern end of Singlers Marsh (ie where any road-widening would occur) contains a large amount of discarded Roman-era remains from the spoil that was dumped there when works were performed to excavate the gap for Link Road.
5. Welwyn’s cemetery is currently surrounded by fields in a beautiful rural setting. The four additional development locations will quite literally encircle it, utterly changing the character and nature of this peaceful resting place for the village’s departed souls.
6. These four sites will not only generate increased car traffic along Fulling Mill Lane and onto Link Road towards Welwyn Garden City, but it will also increase cross-country traffic along Kimpton Road towards the M1 and Luton airport. Kimpton Road is a dangerous single-track lane, often prone to flooding from the nearby river and usually heavily pot-holed. Given the need to protect its delightful rural character there are no existing proposals to improve this road, and increased traffic along this route would be highly dangerous to all road users.
7. The allocation of proposed sites for further development in Welwyn takes absolutely no account of the fact that the village has absorbed substantial amounts of new housing (relative to existing housing stock) in the past decade: Clockhouse Gardens, Wendover Gardens, Wilshere Park, Ford garage/London Rd and Nodeway). All these developments have taken place without any investment in the village’s infrastructure, and with no allowance for the differing range of development impacts on: heritage, infrastructure, topography, etc.
8. A petition against the proposal to widen the road and bridge at Fulling Mill Lane/Singlers Marsh has been signed by over 600 local supporters in just 48 hours.

(The above edited report was based on papers prepared by Sandra Kyriakides and Russell Haggar).

Background

With regard to the infrastructure needed for any new developments that are eventually approved, the WHBC Chief Planning Officer has indicated that whereas it is “hoped” that infrastructure would be in place, the responsibility for much of this would be down to the developers.

But we observe that much recent development around Welwyn has not supplied any accompanying infrastructure improvement at all. Indeed. some of those developments have explicitly exacerbated infrastructure strains, through insufficient off-street parking leading to substantial overflow on-street parking that blocks traffic flows and clogs
junctions.

Highways

Lack of co-ordination with the County Council, particularly regarding County Highways, has also been a feature of much recent development. WPAG are unaware of any plans to address the congestion at the Clock roundabout, other than a reliance on a future Smart A1(M).

County Highways’ plans to reduce on-street parking within Welwyn will work against encouraging an increasing population to use the local shops, and there are no plans announced to manage increased congestion along Welwyn High Street, the B656 Codicote Road, and the B197 Oaklands/Knebworth/Stevenage roads.

Infrastructure and Planning

WPAG believe that the WHBC planners should make it a condition of granting planning, that all infrastructures are put in place in ‘Phase One’ of any large building development.

Only once completed could the next phase of the development progress. This would, hopefully avoid the possibility of any developer not providing the necessary infrastructure.

Another condition of any development should be full enforcement of affordable and social housing obligations, because too many recent developments have been allowed to water down their commitments in these areas.

Any envisaged developments should be sympathetic in style to the nature of Welwyn’s village and surrounding settlements, and also not add to parking or traffic problems.

Heritage – Singlers Marsh

WHBC should guarantee the long term integrity of Singlers Marsh through reassignment of its protected status and, if necessary, its ownership.

(The above edited report was based on papers prepared by Sandra Kyriakides and Russell Haggar).

Background

We reported on the Welwyn Hatfield Local Plan Site Review on May 8th 2019

Following the subsequent production of the WHBC Draft Local Plan which was submitted to the Inspector, and the series of public examinations which followed, the Inspector has asked the WHBC to undertake further work to address areas where he felt that their Draft Local Plan fell short of his requirements.

He called for the WHBC to produce a series of documents for further Examination of which Examination Document EX156 is of great significance to Welwyn, which assesses Welwyn Hatfield’s Landscape Sensitivity, and EX160 which presents a so-called Green Gap Assessment.

The WPAG and the WPC were consulted on both these Examination documents.

The WPAG Response to the WHBC’s Consultation of their Examination Papers

The joint WPC/WPAG Local Plan Working Party was re-called, and a joint Response was penned by Cllr Bill Morris and submitted to the Inspector (direct) by the Clerk to the Welwyn Parish Council.

You are recommended to go to the WHBC Local Planning site where you will be able to read the WPC/WPAG response in full.

Public Examination

The Inspector has since invited all ‘Representers’ to the Draft Local Plan, which includes the WPC/WPAG, to speak to our Response on 17th December 2019 as part of a further series of formal meetings which will examine WHBC’s Housing Needs Forecasts.

SITES FOR AN EXTRA 4000 HOUSES HAVE TO BE FOUND.

The following Introductory paragraphs are taken from the WHBC website.

The Draft Local Plan sets out the long-term planning framework for the borough, identifying how much and what type of development is needed, where it should or should not be located and whether any key infrastructure needs to be delivered, such as primary and secondary schools. Once adopted, the Local Plan will shape the future of the borough for at least 15 years ahead.

The Draft Local Plan was submitted to the Secretary of State for examination in May 2017. An independent planning inspector, Melvyn Middleton BA(Econ), DipMgmt, MRTPI,  was appointed to consider the soundness of the submitted plan.

The draft plan contains sites for 12,000 homes but the housing need is currently acknowledged to be about 16,000 homes to 2033.

As the plan does not meet the objectively assessed need for housing in full, the Inspector has asked the council to investigate if there is any scope for additional housing sites to be identified. 

CALL FOR SITES 2019

Having taken the Inspector’s comments into account, the council decided to carry out a Call for (more) Sites.

The Call for Sites took place between 7th January and 4th February 2019. Over 140 sites were promoted for either housing, employment, mixed use or other forms of development.  

Consultation on the new sites that are being promoted by landholders has now started and instructions on how to respond are on the WHBC website.

Responses to this Consultation have to be with the WHBC by 5pm on 18th June 2019.

All the promoted sites across the Borough can be studied on their website.

WPAG ACTION PLAN

The Welwyn Planning & Amenity Group (WPAG) were members of the Local Plan Working Party set up by the Welwyn Parish Council (WPC) in 2017.

In the past 24 hours the WPAG has encouraged the WPC to re-call that Working Party to prepare a response to the new list of Promoted sites.

WELWYN PARISH – PROMOTED SITES

For your ease of access, we list below the new sites being promoted for Welwyn Parish, including other neighbouring sites which have the potential to significantly affect Welwyn, should they be selected.

We do not as yet express our views on these sites, which have to be studied in depth.

It is perhaps necessary to remind you that the sites previously accepted for the Draft Local Plan, are still in place – this Consultation is only for the additional sites that the WHBC are now looking at, which have been promoted as a result of the Call for Sites 2019.

WELWYN PARISH, AND NEARBY, PROMOTED SITES

To find the Promoted Sites, please go to the following links to the Borough website.

WELWYN – 2019 Promoted sites

RURAL NORTH – 2019 Promoted sites

OAKLANDS & MARDLEY HEATH – 2019 Promoted sites

DIGSWELL – 2019 Promoted sites

WOOLMER GREEN – 2019 Promoted sites

The following is drafted by Sandra Kyriakides.

WPAG believes that in the context of further WHBC Green Belt Study – Stage 3 called for by the Inspector, (see the WHBC December Local Plan Newsletter) the WPC should reiterate to WHBC by the 20th December 2019 deadline, the major concerns we have for any development in Welwyn – particularly on Green Belt sites – other than those that have already been agreed.

We argue this case on the basis of: 

• the total lack of infrastructure to support further development
• regular peak hour gridlock at the Clock roundabout 
• major redevelopment plans in Codicote (and further afield at Langley) which will increase traffic flow along the B656, which is already overcapacity at peak periods
• the recent approval of a housing development at the former Entech site in Woolmer Green and traffic flows on the B197
• lack of adequate medical provision for an increased population – Lister and QEII Hospitals are running at capacity – and 3-week waiting for GP appointments in local surgeries.

The following draft has been prepared by Sandra Kyriakides

A report to Cabinet Planning and Parking Panel (CPPP) on Thursday (13 December) outlines how the council will seek to meet the objectively assessed need for 16,000 new homes in the borough to 2033.

Members are set to consider the next steps in the development of the borough’s Local Plan, including a further call for new sites.

It follows a request from the government’s planning inspector to carry out a further study assessing the borough’s green belt to find more land for housing. This work assessed the likely impact of development on the green belt, identifying that the borough’s housing need can only be met in full if the council considers land where development would have high impact.

The report to CPPP recommends a call for new sites in the hope that more will come forward in lower harm areas. These will be published for public comment and council officers will then assess sites for their suitability for development. A decision will then be made on which sites are added to the plan for consideration by the inspector.

Cllr Stephen Boulton, Executive Member for Planning, said: “For our plan to move forwards, we must prove to the inspector that we’ve explored all possible options to deliver the level of growth the borough needs for the future.”

“A call for sites in the New Year will give us the best chance of producing a sound plan, a plan that balances the protection of our green belt with the need to deliver the new homes, jobs, services and infrastructure our children and grandchildren will rely on.”

Members will also agree a new timetable, which would see a four week call for new sites in January 2019, followed by sites being published for six weeks of public comment in February and March. It is hoped the plan will now be adopted in spring 2020.

To read the full report, visit the council’s website.

WHBC LOCAL PLAN EXAMINATION

The Local Plan for Welwyn Hatfield Borough was submitted for examination on 15 May 2017 and Melvyn Middleton BA(Econ) DipTP DipMgmt MRTPI was appointed by the Secretary of State to carry out an independent examination of our Local Plan (2013-2032).

The Inspector’s task is to consider the soundness of the submitted plan, based on the criteria set out in paragraph 182 of the National Planning Policy Framework (the Framework).

A series of Public Staged Hearings have been held by the Inspector with WHBC Officers, and he has received submissions from invited public representatives.

All the Staged Hearings are all available to be studied on the WHBC website.

Green Belt

Of particular interest at this time are the Inspector’s comments at the Stage 5 Hearing which addressed Green Belt issues.

To understand these better, we will first review current legislation regarding Green Belts.

Government policy on the Green Belt is set out in chapter 13 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).  Paragraph 133 states that ‘the fundamental aim of Green Belt policy is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open; the essential characteristics of Green Belts are their openness and their permanence’.

2.18 This is elaborated in NPPF paragraph 134, which states that Green Belts should serve five purposes, as set out below.

The purposes of Green Belt:

• To check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas.
• To prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another.
• To assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment.
• To preserve the setting and special character of historic towns.
• To assist in urban regeneration, by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban

Welwyn Hatfield’s case

The acuteness of the need for housing and the limited availability of land within urban areas for housing and employment have led WHBC to conclude that exceptional circumstances exist to review Green Belt boundaries to positively plan for the Borough’s development needs.  To deliver the most sustainable pattern of growth, development is to be directed to the urban areas and inset villages.  In addition, a new village ‘Symondshyde’ is proposed to the North West of Hatfield.

The Stage 5 Hearing

The Green Belt Review prepared and submitted by WHBC was discussed at the Stage 5 Hearing with the Government Inspector on 6^th & 7^th November 2018.  It can be viewed online on the WHBC website.  The document is 20 pages long; the points of interest that I picked up are mostly in questions 37 and 38.

The Council holds the view, and has therefore stated that exceptional circumstances exist only to meet the need for employment and housing growth and any change to the boundary will therefore be limited to the site allocations process.

The Inspector indicated at the round up session on the Green Belt Study that in his view the methodology was robust, and he has confirmed that he is not intending to have any further hearing sessions to discuss methodology.

As (public) representations have been made, stating that assessment of harm was not carried out on a consistent basis, the Inspector has asked that there should be consultation on the consistency of the scorings of the parcels and sub-division of parcels. The Inspector wants these matters to have been addressed before the village hearing sessions take place.

The deadline for comments is 5:00pm on Thursday 20 December.  Comments received will be posted on the WHBC website on the examination pages, estimated by end of January.