FM 134

I'm writing to object to the proposed plans to build more homes on green belt country in North Herts.

Not only will the proposed number of new houses destroy the lungs of North Hertfordshire, it will irreparably damage existing communities and the landscape, especially so because the existing infrastructure is inadequate as it stands, without adding to the number of homes, people and cars as proposed. Apart from the traffic bottlenecks which threaten to become a feature of daily life, the drainage system in the Ickleford area is utterly precarious. There is regular flooding in the road where I live in winter, and the addition of hundreds of new homes in land above me will only add to the problem. I STRONGLY urge you to reconsider the proposals, or at least to commission a geological survey of land near Chambers Lane and Walnut Way to determine the effect of the building programme on the underground river which runs alongside the road.

We would like to make the following representations in response to the latest consultation on the further proposed main modifications to the NHDC Local Plan 2011-2031.
1. ED172 references the Green Belt review. With reference to site 328 in particular (currently within the Green Belt), a SHLAA was carried out in 2016 that established this site as having not passed its tests and unsuitable for development for heritage reasons. Furthermore, this site has recently been rejected for development on the basis of its ecological and heritage value. However, the site continues to be proposed within the Ickleford Village boundary, converting to 'White Land', even though the reasons for its unsuitability will never change. The change of designation is inconsistent with the selection process articulated within document ED172 and we request that the site is removed from the village boundary and restored to its current Green Belt status.
2. ED191A references the OAN figures for North Herts based on a 2018 assessment point. Although these figures have reduced since the previous assessment, following both Brexit and the pandemic, it is now wholly appropriate to entirely revisit the future need for housing within NHDC. As you will of course be aware, these two events have seismically changed the landscape for housing demand. Brexit has already seen large volumes of population return to their EU nation countries. The pandemic promises to fundamentally shift the relationship between people's places of residence and their place of work and is already leading to an increase in housing demand in more rural areas, far beyond Hertfordshire's boundaries. This trend will surely only continue and we therefore request that these macro trends are given due consideration when using this data to inform policy decisions.

See Attached