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Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 21st July 2006 Dear Ruth, East of England Plan – Panel Report As you will be aware the independent panel’s report of the Examination in Public into the East of England Plan was published on 22nd June 2006. The development of the East of England Plan has attracted much attention and the Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council endeavoured to be constructive in its responses to the Plan notwithstanding the debates that have raged over parts of Hertfordshire with regard to housing numbers. Welwyn Hatfield Council accepted the allocation set out in the Plan and even indicated that there might be scope to increase the figure of 5,800 dwellings assigned to Welwyn Hatfield by a further 300. There are inevitably concerns about infrastructure provision but it was felt that this amount of development could be achieved in a sustainable manner and was deliverable. As you are no doubt aware the Panel report has recommended to you that the figure for Welwyn Hatfield be increased to 10,000 dwellings, an addition of 4,200 over the figure originally set out in the plan. This raises major concerns which are as follows; · The Panel has provided no evidence as to how they have justified this increase. They comment generally about the role of new towns in delivering housing growth but offer little more by way of explanation. · The Panel’s recommendations have not been properly tested or subject to scrutiny; the late emergence of the proposals has resulted in the absence of a public and democratic process with no opportunity for the public to express their opinion. · There is a complete lack of evidence or technical work underlying the recommendations and no sustainability appraisal, so the full impact and deliverability of their recommendations is unknown; and the whole way these proposals have emerged is contrary to the spirit of the planning reforms of frontloading and transparency. · The Panel has assumed that the scale of growth proposed could be accommodated without prejudice to environmental limits. Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield have environmental constraints. I understand that technical work commissioned by EERA in 2004 identified a potential for an additional 780 dwellings on Greenfield land in Welwyn Hatfield, not 4,200. One of the key reasons for this was the close proximity of the towns of Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City and St Albans and any substantial release of green belt land would result in those settlements coalescing, the prevention of this is one of the fundamental aims of the green belt as I understand it. There has been no further technical work to support the Panel’s approach. · Not only has the Panel recommended the additional housing but also a strategic review of the green belt which seems to mean that the Borough will have to draw the new boundary so that it is capable of accommodating more development up to 2031. This quite frankly defies all logic. · The Panel believes that the new housing will assist the regeneration of the towns of Hatfield and WGC. The Council is shortly to resolve to make a Compulsory Purchase Order in connection with the Hatfield Town Centre redevelopment having entered into a partnership with the developer and English Partnerships. I understand from speaking to the Borough Council that far from stimulating regeneration the uncertainty caused by the Panel report might now in fact hold back what is already a very complex scheme. · During the Examination in Public there was no specific exploration of whether the existing infrastructure could accommodate this level of growth in Welwyn Hatfield. Whilst there is reference in the Panel’s report to improvements to the A1M and ECML, the additional housing growth has not been made contingent on improvements to infrastructure capacity and there is no reference to the A414. Notwithstanding the infrastructure improvements that have been made on the back of the Hatfield Aerodrome development it was understood that no further capacity could be squeezed out of the road network. What has changed? There are a raft of other inconsistencies with the increased housing figures which I would be pleased to share with you. This Borough has a track record of delivering development and it seems to me that effectively what has happened is that the Panel has accepted a developer submission at face value without any technical appraisal, much less consultation with the local community. Inevitably wherever substantial development takes place there is objection and it is easy to be accused of a “nimby” reaction. However in this instance, not only is the Borough astonished at the allocation of the increased figure but the same astonishment and surprise seems to be common with whom ever I speak outside of the authority and indeed across the Region. Earlier in this letter I refer to Government’s reforms of the planning system and the need for community engagement to be a key part of the process, something I very much support and welcome. However in this instance there has been no consultation and there will be none apart from the formal period once you have agreed the changes to the Plan. Reading the report I see that the Panel was impressed by the strength of feeling and the well organised opposition to the proposals in Harlow. It therefore seems extremely inequitable that a similar opportunity has been denied to my constituents. In conclusion, I would stress that the area cannot support this level of development which will all but wipe out our greenbelt areas; the increases are not supported evidentially and have not been subject to scrutiny. The lack of consultation is shocking and demonstrated not least by the way the Panel continue to refer to Welwyn Hatfield as a single entity rather that the two separate and very distinct towns that it actually is. I would appreciate your urgent response on this pressing and extremely worrying matter.
Yours
ever, |
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Legal: No Way To
10k is a campaign established by Grant Shapps MP with support from
across the community. |
