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The East of England Plan, published this week, confirms Hertfordshire's worst fears for development on a massive scale across the county. According to the Plan, at least 83,200 homes must be built in Hertfordshire in the next 15 years. That's the equivalent to a city the size of Milton Keynes being built in one of the most densely populated and highly congested counties in the country.
This figure doesn't include the threat of overspill into Hertfordshire from the separately proposed homes planned for north of Harlow and the development planned to the east of Luton - so the final housing figure is likely to be much higher than this (prospective figures for north of Harlow are in the region of 10,000 homes). The scale of development will mean loss of green belt land around Stevenage and risks urban sprawl from Hatfield, through St Albans to Hemel Hempstead.
Derrick Ashley, Executive Member for Planning, External Relations and Waste, reacted to the publication of the Plan by saying: "This development will dramatically affect the quality of life for people in Hertfordshire, which in turn will impact on our ability to attract and retain economic development in the county. Since these plans first emerged in 2004, we have consistently argued that additional homes cannot be built without significant development to Hertfordshire's infrastructure. Hertfordshire is already dealing with over-stretched transportation routes: traffic flows are 30 percent higher than the national average and our road and rail networks are already struggling to cope.
"If the government is to insist on this scale of development, they must respond to our call for substantial investment, particularly in the local transport infrastructure, otherwise we could see the county literally grind to a halt!"
Leader of the County Council, Robert Gordon, said "We are furious that the government has again failed to listen to local concerns about the impact of these housing numbers. We accept that some additional homes are needed, particularly to help key workers who struggle to afford house prices in Hertfordshire, but the numbers in the Plan are approaching double what we, as local representatives, feel the county can accommodate on this timescale. Decisions like this should be made at a local level, and not by an unelected regional body and the Secretary of State."
Hertfordshire County Council will be reviewing its options over the coming weeks and is already working with the district and borough councils on a study to identify exactly what will be needed to support the new housing, should these numbers become a reality.
Robert Gordon continued: "Despite our continuing opposition to this scale of expansion being imposed on Hertfordshire, we are committed to ensuring any development is carried out in the most sustainable way possible to get the best deal for our residents and businesses and to minimise the adverse impact on our quality of life." http://www.hertsdirect.org/EofE |
