Local Plan 2011-2031 Proposed Submission Draft

The current rail infrastructure is not sufficient to support the total number of houses that are proposed for all four sites. My wife and I commute by train to London and regularly experience issues, including overcrowding and cancelled or delayed services, which would be severely exacerbated with an increase in passengers. The proposed changes to the train service in 2018 will not support such an increase in passengers from Knebworth, with proposals to stop fast services to London, fewer trains at off-peak times and only one train route through Knebworth (local villages such as Welwyn North will be served by more). This is despite the fact that Knebworth has had the highest increase in passengers numbers in North Hertfordshire. Furthermore, we have seen increased commuter parking in streets near the station, creating dangerous environments and making it hard to drive round Knebworth due to the amount of parked cars - this is something that would only get worse if the volume of station users increased. All the above concerns are made even worse by no plans to create local employment in Knebworth - as the rail services will be a primary source for work.

Furthermore, we are very concerned about the strain on local public amenities. For instance, there is currently an average of a three-week wait for a doctor appointment in the village. This situation cannot afford to get any worse - but clearly will under these plans, compromising the health and wellbeing of residents.