CD5 Land south of Heath Lane

I wish to object to the current proposed local plan with regard to the proposed new housing bolted on the VILLAGE of Codicote.

Transport and all amenities are already considerably stretched. There is only 1 main road through the village. A 25% increase in housing will mean a 25% increase in traffic which this road will not sustain. There is no station in Codicote so all workers will need to commute by road as there is no major employer in the village either.

CD1, 3 and 5 in particular are built onto narrow windy country lanes with no passing spaces and in CD1 case no pavement. These roads are not suitable for any increased regular commuter time traffic. Pedestrian safety would be a serious issue.

I am writing to you in connection with the District Council's consultation on its Local Plan, and particularly in relation to the proposed expansion of Codicote. I strongly object to the proposal to allow the construction of over 300 houses in the Green Belt surrounding Codicote. I shall explain my reasoning beginning with reference to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). I shall also demonstrate that the proposal is inconsistent with North Hertfordshire District Council (NHDC's) own policies.

Driving a coach & horses through the principles outlined in the NPPF
The proposals for building houses in the areas CD1 - 5 run contrary to the principles enshrined in the NPPF, as follows:

Par. 79
'The Government attaches great importance to Green Belts. The fundamental aim of Green Belt policy is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open; the essential characteristics of Green Belts are their openness and their permanence.'

Par. 87
'As with previous Green Belt policy, inappropriate development is, by definition, harmful to the Green Belt and should not be approved except in very special circumstances.'

Comment: Building in the Green Belt is only allowable under very special circumstances, and NHDC has simply not demonstrated this is the case. Here I would like to refer to CPRE's submission of 23rd November 2016, and there is little purpose in my repeating what CPRE has said. However, it is worth emphasising that case law has demonstrated that general housing need does not constitute an exceptional circumstance, as were it to do so then in effect the Green Belt would be afforded no protection. This argument is made very clearly by CPRE and I would like to endorse everything they say concerning the fact that NHDC has failed to demonstrate the case for exceptional circumstances justifying the release of the Green Belt for development around Codicote.

Par. 109
'The planning system should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by:

* protecting and enhancing valued landscapes,...recognising the wider benefits of ecosystem services;
* minimising impacts on biodiversity and providing net gains in biodiversity where possible, contributing to the Government's commitment to halt the overall decline in biodiversity..'

Comment: This proposal can only harm biodiversity, resulting in the local extinctions of farmland dependent species.

Par. 113
'Local planning authorities should set criteria based policies against which proposals for any development on or affecting protected wildlife... or landscape areas will be judged... commensurate with their status.. [giving] appropriate weight to their importance and the contribution that they make to wider ecological networks.'

Comment: Where has the Council established a policy that states that new developments are acceptable in the context of eliminating populations of fauna that rely on farmland?

Incompatibilities with NHDC's District Local Plan with Alterations (1996)
The proposal to expand Codicote by nearly 25 per cent is not supported by the Council's Local Plan:

Policy 3
Settlements within the Green Belt
Comment: This policy states that development may only be considered for strict agricultural need, the service needs of the settlement within which the development is proposed, a single dwelling not resulting in outward expansion, or an identified rural housing need which meets the criteria of Policy 29. Policy 29 refers to a 'specific and proven local need,' which would not be available on the 'general housing market,' visually sympathetic to the existing character of, in this case Codicote, not detracting from the 'character' or local 'landscape,' all of which would be 'secured in a legal agreement.' In short, neither Policy 3 nor Policy 29 permits development of the nature envisaged for Codicote in NHDC's Local Plan.

Policy 5
Excluded Villages
Comment: This policy states that the Council may permit development in Codicote 'only if the development is compatible with the maintenance and enhancement of village character [my emphasis] and the maintenance of Green Belt boundaries... Clearly increasing a settlement by some 25 per cent cannot by any definition 'maintain and enhance' village character - what this development does is begin the inexorable transformation of our village into a small town. How can the following inevitable consequences of this expansion maintain or enhance Codicote as a village, but to the contrary it will degrade village life in a number of respects:

* there is insufficient capacity in the local primary school for more pupils and as it is secondary school pupils have to travel on overcrowded buses to neighbouring towns like Welwyn Garden City on congested roads;
* Codicote does not have a GP's surgery and the local surgery at Bridge Cottage is already at overcapacity;
* Codicote's High Street is already overfull with limited parking, with cars often obstructing the pavement - this situation can only worsen with more housing;
* Affinity Water will not (rightly in my view) allow any more abstraction from the Mimram. How, therefore, is the demand for more water going to be met? There are already constraints on the infrastructure for waste water;
* There are currently frequent short power cuts in Codicote - how can this improve with more demand for electricity unless power cables are to be strengthened.

Expanding Codicote by 25 per cent is unsustainable
The NPPF makes clear the Government's support for sustainable development but the NPPF also incorporates the Brundtland understanding of what sustainability entails, namely that it must have economic, social and environmental protection at its heart. The proposal in the Local Plan fails on all three criteria. That is, there will be few economic benefits to the village with this development (in terms of long term employment - as almost all the new householders will work elsewhere), when there is already pressure on schools, health facilities and other infrastructure the development can only create tensions rather than improved community cohesiveness, and finally environmentally it can only be very harmful. The new houses - assuming they will not be zero carbon homes - will produce green house gases and 315 new houses will result in approximately 550 additional cars, all of them queuing at rush hour along the rural roads surrounding Codicote as the new residents drive to work elsewhere. So together, home energy consumption and transport, will contribute to Climate Change. And what these developments will be replacing is rural land which currently serves as a habitat for wildlife.

Conclusion
In summary, the NPPF explicitly states that the Green Belt can only be developed in very exceptional circumstances, and as CPRE has pointed out NHDC has not demonstrated any such exceptional circumstances, and general housing need categorically does not constitute an exceptional circumstance. In this regard I would like to quote from the letter of the Chief Planner to all Planning Authorities in 2015. Here he says:
The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that most development in the Green Belt is inappropriate and should be approved only in very special circumstances. Consistent with this... unmet need are unlikely to clearly outweigh harm to the Green Belt... so as to establish very special circumstances. (Letter from Steve Quartmain CBE of 31 August 2015)
Moreover, when the Council considers its own Local Plan, it is clear that the development proposed for Codicote does not 'maintain or enhance' but rather is of a place changing scale and should not be permitted. It is also wholly unsustainable, from the perspective of socially dividing the community rather than bringing people together, increasing the congestion on lanes not designed for 'rush hour' traffic, increasing green house gas emissions, threatening already overstretched water supplies, and replacing wildlife habitats at a time when the State of Nature report published recently tells us how much of our rural wildlife is declining. In every respect, therefore, the proposal to expand Codicote should not be permitted.
Thank you for considering the evidence I presented in this letter.

Land south of Cowards Lane:
Huge impact on already congested High Street
Huge impact on an already over-subscribed school
Huge impact on wildlife
Huge impact on drainage and risk of water run off
Huge impact on local services - health centres, refuse and recycling collection, standard of the roads, child road safety, elderly road safety, care of the elderly and disabled in their homes as numbers increase, with lack of extra provision in all of these areas.
Heath Lane
Huge impact on already congested roads - lanes and High Street.
Huge impact on an already over-subscribed school
Huge impact on wildlife
Huge impact on drainage and risk of water run off
Huge impact on local services - health centres, refuse and recycling collection, standard of the roads, child road safety, elderly road safety, care of the elderly and disabled in their homes as numbers increase with lack of extra provision in all of these areas.
No space to increase the size of the school.
Garden Centre:
Huge impact on already congested High Street
Huge impact on an already over-subscribed school
Huge impact on wildlife
Huge impact on drainage and risk of water run off
Huge impact on local services - health centres, refuse and recycling collection, standard of the roads, child road safety, elderly road safety, care of the elderly and disabled in their homes as numbers increase with lack of extra provision in all of these areas.
Loss of provision for the elderly who use the only cafe in Codicote that they can walk to.
The Close
Huge impact on already congested roads
Huge impact on an already over-subscribed school
Huge impact on wildlife
Huge impact on drainage and risk of water run off
Huge impact on local services - health centres, refuse and recycling collection, standard of the roads, child road safety, elderly road safety, care of the elderly and disabled in their homes as numbers increase with lack of extra provision in all of these areas.

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Objections to some of the plans for building houses around Codicote. My objections cover the following areas:-
1. Impact of traffic congestions- All the proposed site increases the pressure of traffic. Rush hour already causes a very busy road, heavy congestion. the high street is partially single lane due to parked vehicles of residents, this is no problem with low level of vehicles. However, the quarry continues to flaunt it rules having lorries come at 7 am in the morning weekdays and weekends, and the volume of lorries coupled with increase traffic from the new houses puts considerable pressure in the system. There are not plans to manage this pressure. Access routes of traffic for some sites (CD1, CD2 & CD3) are manageable but not for CD5. The access onto St Albans road are only large enough for one vehicle at a time between 2 houses and really should not be an access route at al. The another route onto dark lane, again and small narrow access route that comes into a blind corner. A corner that is extremely dangerous. Quarry lorries come around that corner in excess of 50 miles and hours and I have seen several near misses that could be fatal. Increasing traffic pulling out into the corner would need thorough planning. This means access into the Meadow way estate or direct onto Heath hill would be required but not sufficient for the sheer volume of houses. I suggest reducing the volume of houses on CD5, allocating land for school expansion and fund building projects to expand the school in advance of the housing.
2. No account for sufficient infrastructure- if all these houses are built the local school is not sufficient to take the children. there needs to be supporting plan to extend the school. The only land the school can extend to is the field adjacent to the school the other side of the foot path and that field should be used for expansion with the foot path being diverted.
3. Loss of green belt outside of policy- the Government fundamental aim of Green Belt policy is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open; the essential characteristics of Green Belts are their openness and their permanence. the current plan goes against this essential policy. Adding such a large number of houses increases urban sprawl, especially the site CD5 which urbanises an areas used a lot by local dog walker, children for walking and leisure.
4. Affordable housing. The plans need to have some affordable homes. Not homes starting at £300 000, but affordable flats for new starters or for people in the village to buy. The housing build in Codicote tends to be luxury 4 bed homes, there needs to be commitment but builders who get the contract to build sustainable homes and at least 20% affordable homes for first starters.

I write to express my objections to the proposal to develop green belt land in Codsicote, nr Hitchin, Herts for the purposes of additional housing. I was born in Dark Lane, Codicote in the 1960's and have lived there throughout my childhood and on & off during adulthood. I continue to spend considerable time there with family & friends & hence have considerable knowledge of the local community.
I would like to make the following points to support my objection to large scale development in Codicote & particularly the violation of green belt:
1. Codicote is a relatively small rural village which would not sustain a sudden expansion of housing stock of nearly 25%.
2. The proposal is all to take place on green belt land and is not in fill between established buildings.
3. Currently the population consists of a mixture of those employed locally in rural, retail & service industry and commuters travelling to larger conurbations including Stevenage, Hitchin, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, St Albans & London. There is no likelihood of the proposed expansion in housing being matched by a similar increase in local jobs hence there will be considerable increase in strain on transport links & the village risks becoming a dormitory town to London.
4. Codicote is situated on the B656 which is a very busy B road but is already struggling to deal with the current traffic density. The road is particularly narrow between Codicote & Welwyn (which is the nearest access to the A1(M)) & during peak hours entry onto this road from St Albans Rd, Heath Rd, Cowards La, Whitwell Rd & Rabley Heath Rd is very difficult & potentially dangerous due to sight lines & parked cars - these problems will only intensify with development of the village.
5. The B656 due to its route is well known as an accident blackspot between Codicote & Hitchin.
6. The access to Wheathampstead & St. Albans is via St. Albans/Codicote Rd, this is a narrow C road & is unsuitable for heavy traffic (and already accommodates HGV's & heavy plant from the Quarry)
7. There is no public transport from Codicote to St Albans & irregular/limited bus services to Hitchin, Welwyn & Stevenage. There is no Train station in the village & access to the mainline will require car use (cycling facilities are limited) with increase in congestion, pollution & car parking problems.
8. Educational facilities are limited to a primary school, which would struggle to manage an influx of pupils. The drop off & pick-up points for the school tends to be from St Albans Rd. accessing the school via a footpath alleyway (the road entrance to the school is on Meadow Way) - the volume of parked cars & traffic during School drop off creates dangers & delays.
9. Secondary school & higher education facilities are absent
10. There are no emergency services based in Codicote - the nearest hospitals are in Stevenage & Welwyn Garden City as are the nearest Police Stations there is a ?volunteer firestation in Welwyn (along with the Library). There are no GP primary care services within the village & based on personal experiences there is considerable difficulty in appointing new GPs in areas with a high cost of living due to NHS salaries. (I suspect this applies to almost all other community professionals eg Teachers etc)
11. There are no entertainment hubs within walking distance except village pubs.
12. There are no major supermarkets or retail outlets within walking distance.
13. The services in the village are limited or finite: The mains drainage is not designed to cope with the current demand (& Dark Lane does not have main drain); Water is pumped from the river Mimram, which often reduces to barely a trickle during Summer months; Internet speeds are slow.
14. The level of pollution from traffic & housing is likely to rise considerably particularly along the B656 which is the main village shopping centre/High Street.
15. There are limited crossing points across the High St/B656 but shops on both sides putting pedestrians at risk. Parking is limited in this area with cars encroaching on the pavements (further crossing points would increase vehicle traffic delays & potentially cause gridlock at peak times with consequent pollution problems)
16. The environmental impact will be huge - the proposal will destroy large areas of agricultural, grazing hedgerows & spinneys displacing wildlife & could risk eradicating or contaminating surrounding rivers.
17. There will be considerable light pollution generated by the development, which would particularly effect the Three Hills area & Mimram Valley and the Hamlet of Ayot St Lawrence, which is a known beauty spot.
18. The proposed access to the Heath la/St Albans Rd site(CD5) is not viable:
- The farm track between houses on the St Albans Rd is approx. 12 feet wide
- The narrow strip of land on Dark Lane is not wide enough for access to a major development (& would need to allow Emergency & sevice vehicles) and opens onto Dark lane which is unsuitable for motor vehicles, single track and has a junction on to St Albans Rd at a sharp bend with a very poor site line.
- The possibility of access via Heath La is also not viable as this again is a very narrow road & a steep (1:10) hill.

I can find little to commend the proposals and trust you will note the above points when considering the application.

I am writing to you provide you with my objections to the proposed Codicote Local Development Plan (part of the Proposed Submission Local Plan 2011-2031). I have been a resident of Codicote for around 50 years, and my two daughters have also been homeowners here. As such I feel I am well placed to comment on the Local Development Plan.

Whilst I appreciate that there is a shortage of housing in the current climate and that the village will have to provide new houses, the number of dwellings proposed in this Plan is far beyond what the village infrastructure could cope with. The 315 dwellings proposed represents growth of almost 25%.

Over the last few years Codicote has grown significantly and its infrastructure is already severely over stretched. The proposed plan will radically change the nature of this rural country village. My objections are as follows:

1. School

The school is already oversubscribed. Although enlarging it is within the plan, the quantity of houses envisaged will fill that immediately. The secondary schools all involve a commute (which would add extra traffic and school buses to the roads) and would struggle to provide places to the additional children.

2. Doctors

The local GP surgery is already at crisis point and it is extremely difficult to get a doctors appointment with the present number of residents. They often quote 3-week waiting times. The surgery finds it extremely hard to recruit new GPs to cope with present demand.

3. Transport

The village roads are crowded and these are rural lanes quite unsuited to managing a lot more traffic. At peak times it is difficult to gain access to the main B656, and there are long daily tailbacks through the village. Parking near the shops on the high street is already always difficult, and school drop-off and collection times mean gridlock in the side streets. Extra houses would increase pollution and journey times.

4. Utilities

The main drains in the village are said to be struggling to manage the present level of use. There are still some houses that are not connected to the mains drains because of the difficulties with levels.

It is doubtful that the pumping station by the river could deal with the number of houses in the proposed plan. It has one small pipe leading to the village water tower that is a fair distance away from the pumping station. A few years ago the river even dried up due to increased demand.

The electricity supply is similarly challenged and a new sub-station had to be built after the supply dropped below the legal limit after some in-fill houses were built.

5. Recreation & Nature

Although some of the proposed sites (such as CD2 by the garden centre) would appear to have good road access, other proposed sites are in the green belt. They are also extremely rural and are traversed by footpaths that are regularly used by dog walkers.

The Mimram Valley is one of the most beautiful areas in this part of Hertfordshire. To blight it with the CD5 development is a significant loss. The large green belt area to the south of Heath Lane and west of St Albans Road (CD5) is prime green belt land. Building on it would totally affect the entire nature of the village and have a very detrimental effect on the diverse wildlife dependent upon it. This includes deer, foxes, badgers, herons, egrets, owls, red kites and many other species.

Dark Lane offers an attractive year-round walk. The villagers extensively use it for recreational purposes. Dog walkers, cyclists, horse riders and families visiting the Mimram river (that is accessed further down via a bridleway) use this quiet, pretty lane frequently. The proposed CD5 development would surely mean that the high traffic levels would be too dangerous for this recreational use to continue. This would be a big loss to the community and to their access to, and enjoyment of, nature.

6. Farming

The CD5 and CD1 proposed houses would replace a dwindling supply of established permanent pasture, which has for decades been used for fattening farm cattle and sheep, and producing summer hay crops. We need such established farmland to feed the British cattle and sheep that in turn feed the people of our country. There would also be loss of open space and loss of Green Belt land.

7. Road Safety

The proposed access to CD5 from St Albans Road and Dark Lane is ridiculously inappropriate. One access is a grassy farm track just wide enough for a tractor or land rover. The other access point off Dark Lane is also narrow, and becomes an overhung single-track road currently serving just three houses. Dark Lane comes off a very dangerous blind bend on St Albans Lane. This is surely the most dangerous corner in the village. To increase the traffic to it would be unfeasible.

Similarly the CD1 houses would be accessed off Cowards Lane, which too is a single-width lane that connects onto one of the faster travelling sections of the High Street featuring a blind summit.

To conclude, I believe that the rural nature of Codicote village would be lost forever by the proposed number of houses outlined in this ill conceived plan.

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