Knebworth grew up around the railway station and it is bisected by the north-south East Coast mainline which runs on a raised (5 meter) embankment.

Access from the western side of the railway to the east and the main north-south road (the B197) is via (under) two railway bridges at Gun Road and Station Road; the roads are narrow and badly aligned making visibility difficult and presenting a danger to pedestrians.

These bridges have a usable traffic height of fourteen feet.

There's a third bridge where traffic passes over the railway at Deards End Lane; the bridge is a listed monument and has a 7.5 tonne weight limit. Access is via a narrow residential lane.

The fourth access from the west of the railway to the east is at Woolmer Green (Bridge Road) which is again a road under a badly aligned bridge, with a narrow residential section at its eastern end.

The B 197 is a two-lane road; the high street (past Chas Lowe site KB3) is a pinch-point due to parking on both sides but this has the benefit of slowing traffic in this retail / pedestrian area. The road runs parallel to the A1(M) and is used as a (very congested) relief road when the A1(M) is closed.

A recent planning application for a solar farm nearby (at Three Houses Lane) was turned down as inappropriate green belt development although it was designed as a temporary (25-30 year) structure. No exceptional circumstance exists to mean permanent housing would be appropriate on the green belt in this area where a temporary structure would not.

The only exceptional circumstance for green belt development in the region is that NHDC have failed to implement their plans the West of Stevenage site or a new Garden City and are now tight on time to provide any Local Plan at all regardless of quality.

The four proposed sites KB1-4 should be considered together when assessing the overall impact on Knebworth; taking into account employment and travel needs.

The Odessey site is within the Knebworth Parish boundary and was listed in an earlier Local Plan draft but has since been removed as unsuitable. In the interim planning consent has been granted for 70 homes on this green belt (currently leisure use) site.