Local Plan 2011-2031 Proposed Submission Draft

I am writing as we are very concerned about the proposed plans to build 315 new houses in Codicote.

We have lived in the village for 11 years and have seen the High Street become much busier with heavy passing traffic and parked vehicles. Most people who currently live in the village use the B656 to access the A1 or surrounding areas. This is the only direct route through the village from north to south. People have a nightmare journey to get around the A1 roundabout at peak times: this has been made more difficult due to the Clock House development. The village currently has a poor bus service so it leaves no option other than to drive to your destination. 315 new houses will mean many additional cars on the road, particularly as other means of transport to and from the village are inadequate. Codicote does not represent a sustainable location for new development. The Local Plan fails the test of soundness on the basis of one of the four key criteria - 'Consistent with national policy, the plan should enable the delivery of sustainable development in accordance with the policies in the National Planning Policy Framework.'

We have seen three new housing developments in the last year and another is underway on the High Street. The congestion that was caused when the CALA housing development was taking place south of the main part of the village itself on the B656 was terrible, and this was for only a few houses. The beautiful open spaces that surround the village are full of wildlife that would be greatly affected by any new development on Green Belt land. The Local Plan of 1996 confirmed that the status of land around Codicote was Green Belt and it was protected accordingly. This was reiterated in their 'Saving Policies' of 2007. With this in mind, why was Codicote's Green Belt ever considered a suitable area for urban development? When you bear in mind all the above it would seem the local plan is unsound on the basis that it fails on another one of the four key criteria that it must be "Justified - the plan should be the most appropriate strategy, when considered against the reasonable alternatives, based on proportionate evidence.'

This year we have struggled to get our daughter into an already over-subscribed pre-school and those families with school age children have the same problem, with some children who live in the village not able to get a place at our local primary school, Codicote CE Primary. Access to the school is limited and where people chose to drive, they often park in St. Albans Road and walk through the pathway to the school. The lorries from the quarry have to pass along St. Albans Road, (where there is no traffic management or pedestrian crossings), and they regularly use this road at peak school run times. Their size and speed is difficult to accommodate on our over congested small roads. I truly believe it's only a matter of time before there is a bad accident.

With regard to current GP facilities for residents of Codicote, there is often a wait of up to two weeks for a Doctor's appointment as they are over-subscribed. Hospital facilities are also over stretched: our local A&E unit at the Lister Hospital recently reported a wait time of up to seven hours.

We accept that there is a need for more housing in Hertfordshire but feel that a new Garden City would be a much more viable option that would not affect the current towns and villages.