I would like to register my objection to the North Hertfordshire District Council Proposed Submission Local Plan for the sites in Ickleford.

IC1 and IC2 should not be used, they are sites that have long been "Green belt" and IC2 has already had a number of planning applications refused over the years. It is the boundary between Hitchin and Ickleford, and as such should not be compromised.

The very real danger that can be foreseen is the danger posed by the potential increased traffic flow through the village, this is of deep concern to me. The crossroads were changed to a roundabout at the junction of Turnpike Lane, West Mill Lane and the Bedford Road some years ago due to the risks posed by the traffic here. The junction of the new proposed development IC2 with the Bedford Road would present a similar danger but with considerably more traffic coming along the Bedford Road, especially with all the additional housing. IC3 and LS1 propose 270 new houses and, along with the 750 properties at Henlow Camp, and further new housing proposed in the villages beyond Henlow and Stondon the potential traffic using the Bedford Road through the village of Ickleford could be truely enormous.

IC1, IC2, IC3, and LS1 combined propose 319 new homes, this represents a 40% increase in the housing in the village alone, using four different locations. This will have a catastrophic effect on the whole character of the village, and building on IC2 will essentially destroy Ickleford as a village as it will just be swallowed up by Hitchin.

The number of sites should be fewer, even say one or two sites only to minimise disruption within the village and decrease the cost of all the additional services required. The total number of houses proposed for the village across these four sites is too high.

So, to summarise,:
The village cannot sustain the number of houses proposed
The traffic level will be dangerously high
The village could cease to be a village