Local Plan 2011-2031 Proposed Submission Draft

With regard to the possible development of land around Baldock to provide 3290 new houses, I would like to raise the following points:

Transport Links: As there does not appear to be any provision for large amounts of further employment in the proposals, I imagine the people living in the new development will need to travel out of Baldock to work. The two lane A1(M) is already severely congested between Baldock and Welwyn at peak times, with lots of slow moving traffic, queues and many accidents resulting from the volume of traffic. The large amount of extra traffic likely to be generated by this proposed development will mean much worse congestion on the A1(M), which will in turn have a knock on effect on other local roads, including the Baldock bypass. Taking this further, the A1 northbound from Baldock is also only 2 lanes and the other main routes away from Baldock (the A505 and particularly the A507) are already very busy and will all find it difficult to cope with very large amounts of extra traffic. I am very concerned that if the proposed development were to go ahead on this scale, the traffic around the area will be unmanageable, with Baldock being grid-locked every morning and evening.

Baldock rail station is also likely to see a large increase in the number of people wanting to travel by train. The trains are already very over-crowded and there is a proposal by the rail company to cut the number of off peak trains stopping at the station, which can only make matters worse. Also, the station only has parking for a very small amount of cars and the permitted car parks in the town are full to bursting during the week: where will the extra people park for the station?

Utilities: We are always being told we live in one of the driest areas of the country and must conserve water. Will the potential doubling of the population of Baldock be sustainable with regards to the amount of water required? Similarly how will the sewage system cope with the huge increase in waste? I am concerned that this will cause considerable problems in the future.

Development of Prime Agricultural land: Much of the land in the proposed development area is prime agricultural land. In the current climate, when land is being needed to grow crops to make sustainable fuel as well as for food, it does not appear sensible to build on it.

Detrimental affect to character of historic market town: I feel very strongly that this development is too big. Baldock is a small historic market town, with a strong sense of community. The proposed development will approximately double the population of the town and cannot fail to have an effect on both the physical character of the town (by bringing more traffic and greater numbers of people) and the community spirit. There will be greater pressure on all amenities including shops, doctors, dentists, vets, sports facilities etc as well as police, fire brigade, ambulances and schools. Baldock will go from being the smallest of the North Herts towns to being one of the biggest, with very little gain to the current community. The idea of a new garden city, with its own infrastructure and amenities, seems a much better option in my opinion.