Local Plan 2011-2031 Proposed Submission Draft

The Parish Council strongly supports this policy. With three Conservation Areas in the Parish, there is a particular need to continue with the periodic reviews of these designated areas. The most important historic asset in the Parish is Knebworth House, a Grade 2* Listed Building. The reference to Knebworth Park as an historic asset is also welcomed (paragraph 4.163).

The support for the protection of Scheduled Ancient Monuments is welcome. The Parish contains a number of these assets, including two railway bridges in Knebworth (see our representations on sites KB1 and KB2).

Knebworth Parish Council believes that the Local Plan is unsound with regards to the impact of its policies and proposals on the parish.

1. It is neither JUSTIFIED nor meets the requirements of the NPPF because:
* exceptional circumstances beyond housing need alone have not been demonstrated as to why the proposed sites KB1, KB2, and KB4 should be removed from the Green Belt
* the area around Knebworth village makes a significant contribution in maintaining the Local Plan spatial strategy of concentrating development in the towns
* the identity of the village is under threat of coalescence with Stevenage and Woolmer Green as a result of the proposals in the draft Local Plans for North Hertfordshire, Welwyn Hatfield and windfall developments.
* the Green Belt Review incorrectly treat Knebworth as a town - it is still a village
* the cumulative effects of the proposals present a real threat of a continuous "B197 housing corridor" between Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City.
* NHDC has not fully demonstrated how it is protecting the area from development pressures in co-operating with adjoining local authorities on housing site allocations.

2. Not JUSTIFIED - Alternatives are available.

*the Plan is not justified because the District Council have not demonstrated why the permanent removal of the Green Belt around Knebworth is a better viable and effective alternative to the allocation of the safeguarded land to the west of the A1(M) at Stevenage (see policy SP8).
* if this land were brought forward earlier in co-operation with Stevenage Borough Council, it could provide the necessary scale of housing development together with dedicated infrastructure
* it would also avoid the impact on the villages within the Green Belt.

3. The Plan is not EFFECTIVE because:

* the cumulative impact of the proposed allocations, together with the effects of the Welwyn Hatfield Local Plan and windfall have not been addressed
* the impact includes the effects on the road infrastructure, traffic congestion, the harmful effects on the Conservation Areas, schooling, and the effects on the local economy, contrary to policies SP4 and ETC2 of the Local Plan.
* the District Council has failed to produce a specific strategy for Knebworth - each of the proposed sites is less than 500 dwellings on its own
* there is a real risk of piecemeal development of the sites, which means that no single developer will address the fundamental infrastructure issues facing the community.

SUMMARY
Our more detailed comments are set out in the response to individual sections and policies in the Plan. At the Examination, the Parish Council will be asking the Inspector to make modifications to the Local Plan for a different strategy to utilise the land west of Stevenage, instead of removing the Green Belt around Knebworth and other villages. We will also ask for a specific strategy to be set in place for Knebworth.