The Parish Council strongly objects to the development of this area principally because it is designated as Green Belt. The Green Belt performs two important functions on the eastern side of Knebworth. First, it prevents the encroachment of the village into the surrounding countryside. Second, it protects the gap between the edge of Stevenage to the north and east, thus preventing the coalescence of the two settlements. The existing development boundary is soundly defined on the ground, beyond which is open countryside.

The tract of countryside to the east of the village, on rising ground, provides a significant open landscape setting for Knebworth which would be compromised by the extent of the proposed development area. There are long views into and out of the village which add much to its overall character. The views from the village recreation ground are significant and would be severely restricted by the proposed development. Most of the KB4 land is actively-farmed and its loss to development would be contrary to the NPPF (paragraph 112), which seeks to protect the best and most versatile agricultural land.

The amount of traffic generated by the development would have an adverse effect on the capacity of the B197 route thorough the village. More locally, it would severely affect the character and capacity of Watton Road and Datchworth Road. Both these roads are narrow and winding and are damaged by "rat-running" traffic seeking to avoid congestion on the B197 and the A602, as well as the A1(M). This contravenes the Hertfordshire Local Transport Plan 2011 (LTP3), which seeks to protect rural roads. With the development of KB4, these problems can only get worse.

It should be noted that Watton Road is already problematic in that it is used as a "rat run". At the west end, it has been necessary to introduce traffic calming measures to slow traffic through the residential area. Old Lane was formerly heavily used by traffic seeking to avoid the village centre, but has now been closed to south-bound traffic.

In recent years there have been problems with excessive surface water flooding on the east side of the village. This will be exacerbated by the proposed housing development which cannot be overcome by SUDs alone. The problems of sewage disposal and drainage capacity have been summarised in the Parish Council's general representations on Knebworth.

No additional schooling is proposed for this site, but it is acknowledged (in paragraphs 13.190 - 13.194) that there could be a deficiency in school places, particularly if all four sites in Knebworth were developed. This would also apply to secondary education, which is not currently provided in the village. There is speculation about the provision of an "all through" school, but no concrete proposal. The District Council states (in paragraph 13.194) that it "will work with Hertfordshire County Council and the Parish Council" to provide "the most appropriate education solution for the site" but there is no firm plan and no guarantee of delivery.
There is already a problem with the provision of secondary education for Knebworth. Recently, there was an application to build a "free" school in the village but this was rejected by the Secretary of State at an early stage. There is clear evidence that he village is under-served in terms of secondary education, a problem which would be compounded if the proposed developments were to be include in the Local Plan.