Local Plan 2011-2031 Proposed Submission Draft

I strongly object to the huge number of homes planned for the North of Hertfordshire, in excess of 7,000 that due to their siting will inevitably render the A1 corridor and surrounding road network, completely overwhelmed and unable to accommodate the weight of traffic. Even the most conservative estimate would put an additional 13,000 cars on the roads in the towns and villages adjacent to the A1 extending from Knebworth and Codicote to Stevenage, Hitchin, Letchworth and Baldock.

I strongly contest that NDHC has satisfied it's Duty to Cooperate with Welwyn Hatfield District Council, given the planned village at Simonshyde which would see a further 1,400 homes situated adjacent to the A1 that would add to the weight of traffic on the already burgeoning A1.

I reside in the Limberlost, Welwyn which is situated just off the B656, Codicote Road. The B656 is an essential commuter route that drivers use to access the A1 at junction 6 in Welwyn heading from Hitchin. Every morning on my journey to my children's school in Codicote, I have a clear view of the traffic trying to access the A1 on the B656 through Codicote. Since the new development of housing at the old Clock Hotel, the new development at Wilshere Park (The Frith) and the Welwyn exit lane for junction 6 on the A1, Welwyn village and the Welwyn Bypass have become gridlocked during peak times.

Any minor incident in the morning on the A1 or M25 will extend back to Welwyn and Stevenage to the point that the B656 is queueing for up to 2 miles beyond the northern boundary of Codicote. Not to mention the actual effect to the A1, and all major routes heading south.

My own family are already experiencing intolerable traffic jams travelling 6 miles from Welwyn Garden City to Codicote that can take as long as 50 minutes. These traffic jams are entirely due to cars trying to head north on the A1 from Welwyn to Stevenage and beyond. This is the kind of congestion that one would expect to experience during rush hour in London, not in North Hertfordshire. Policy SP7 details Infrastructure Requirements and stipulates that the plan should:

"avoid placing unreasonable additional burdens on the existing community or existing infrastructure."

Given the current weight of traffic on the A1 in North Herts and surrounding road network during peak times, it is unavoidable that the proposed scale of development will place a thoroughly unacceptable burden on the existing community and infrastructure.

Regarding the Countryside and Green Belt of North Hertfordshire, section 4.51 acknowledges that: "The vast majority of land in North Hertfordshire is rural in nature". With the scale of development planned for green belt areas, particularly in Codicote, the local plan threatens the very "nature" of the district. Further in section 4.144 the plan claims to acknowledge the importance of the "natural environment" in North Herts:

"The natural environment forms the setting to the towns and villages in which people live, work and spend their leisure time. Where possible, it should be protected and enhanced in the future to maintain the existing high quality of life that people in the District enjoy."

With this proposed level of development largely on green belt land, it is clear that the local plan has little regard for the quality of life of the existing residents, which will surely suffer as a result of the proposed new housing and vast swelling of the number of cars and new residents.

With particular reference to Codicote and the proposed site CD1 south of Cowards Lane, this site boarders an area of extreme environmental significance and supports an array of rare wildlife species in what is locally known as the Riddy, a wild meadow with wetland and a natural spring. This is a private wildlife habitat, part of Hollards Farm that has been managed as a wildlife preserve for more than 15 years. Policy SP12 states that the local plan should ensure that the "natural environment is protected and enhanced". Section b. provides further that NDHC should be making planning decisions to:

"Protect, enhance and manage biodiversity networks including wetlands and riverine habitats....and seek opportunities for net gains in biodiversity."

To think that it is possible to achieve a net gain in biodiversity is an absolute nonsense. Biodiversity relates to the complete ecosystem of an environment, which essentially includes wildlife. If you decimate the natural habitat of a wildlife population, you destroy the wildlife within that habitat. Why is it that conservation and wildlife preservation is only a matter for the tropics, the rainforests and the oceans? Wildlife preservation is your responsibility too.

If you destroy rural habitat in North Herts, particularly in Codicote, South of Cowards Lane, you are destroying the wildlife and there is no coming back from that. It is entirely impossible to achieve a "net gain in biodiversity". That is just lip service to environmental policy and so bitterly disappointing.

It seems that much of the local plan is paying lip service to what the District Community would want to hear, but I call upon the NHDC to protect and preserve our quality of life in Hertfordshire and the rural nature of our environment. The local plan is not sustainable! The scale of housing growth and development in Hertfordshire is not a viable solution to the national housing shortage.

If you fail to protect the very nature of North Herts, a sharp decline in the living standard of this area is inevitable and a sharp increase in mental illness and poor health is certain to follow in the wake of such a devastating blow to North Hertfordshire.

I strongly object to the huge number of homes planned for the North of Hertfordshire, in excess of 7,000 that due to their siting will inevitably render the A1 corridor and surrounding road network, completely overwhelmed and unable to accommodate the weight of traffic. Even the most conservative estimate would put an additional 13,000 cars on the roads in the towns and villages adjacent to the A1 extending from Knebworth and Codicote to Stevenage, Hitchin, Letchworth and Baldock.

I strongly contest that NDHC has satisfied it's Duty to Cooperate with Welwyn Hatfield District Council, given the planned village at Simonshyde which would see a further 1,400 homes situated adjacent to the A1 that would add to the weight of traffic on the already burgeoning A1.

I reside in the Limberlost, Welwyn which is situated just off the B656, Codicote Road. The B656 is an essential commuter route that drivers use to access the A1 at junction 6 in Welwyn heading from Hitchin. Every morning on my journey to my children's school in Codicote, I have a clear view of the traffic trying to access the A1 on the B656 through Codicote. Since the new development of housing at the old Clock Hotel, the new development at Wilshere Park (The Frith) and the Welwyn exit lane for junction 6 on the A1, Welwyn village and the Welwyn Bypass have become gridlocked during peak times.

Any minor incident in the morning on the A1 or M25 will extend back to Welwyn and Stevenage to the point that the B656 is queueing for up to 2 miles beyond the northern boundary of Codicote. Not to mention the actual effect to the A1, and all major routes heading south.

My own family are already experiencing intolerable traffic jams travelling 6 miles from Welwyn Garden City to Codicote that can take as long as 50 minutes. These traffic jams are entirely due to cars trying to head north on the A1 from Welwyn to Stevenage and beyond. This is the kind of congestion that one would expect to experience during rush hour in London, not in North Hertfordshire. Policy SP7 details Infrastructure Requirements and stipulates that the plan should:

"avoid placing unreasonable additional burdens on the existing community or existing infrastructure."

Given the current weight of traffic on the A1 in North Herts and surrounding road network during peak times, it is unavoidable that the proposed scale of development will place a thoroughly unacceptable burden on the existing community and infrastructure.

Regarding the Countryside and Green Belt of North Hertfordshire, section 4.51 acknowledges that: "The vast majority of land in North Hertfordshire is rural in nature". With the scale of development planned for green belt areas, particularly in Codicote, the local plan threatens the very "nature" of the district. Further in section 4.144 the plan claims to acknowledge the importance of the "natural environment" in North Herts:

"The natural environment forms the setting to the towns and villages in which people live, work and spend their leisure time. Where possible, it should be protected and enhanced in the future to maintain the existing high quality of life that people in the District enjoy."

With this proposed level of development largely on green belt land, it is clear that the local plan has little regard for the quality of life of the existing residents, which will surely suffer as a result of the proposed new housing and vast swelling of the number of cars and new residents.

With particular reference to Codicote and the proposed site CD1 south of Cowards Lane, this site boarders an area of extreme environmental significance and supports an array of rare wildlife species in what is locally known as the Riddy, a wild meadow with wetland and a natural spring. This is a private wildlife habitat, part of Hollards Farm that has been managed as a wildlife preserve for more than 15 years. Policy SP12 states that the local plan should ensure that the "natural environment is protected and enhanced". Section b. provides further that NDHC should be making planning decisions to:

"Protect, enhance and manage biodiversity networks including wetlands and riverine habitats....and seek opportunities for net gains in biodiversity."

To think that it is possible to achieve a net gain in biodiversity is an absolute nonsense. Biodiversity relates to the complete ecosystem of an environment, which essentially includes wildlife. If you decimate the natural habitat of a wildlife population, you destroy the wildlife within that habitat. Why is it that conservation and wildlife preservation is only a matter for the tropics, the rainforests and the oceans? Wildlife preservation is your responsibility too.

If you destroy rural habitat in North Herts, particularly in Codicote, South of Cowards Lane, you are destroying the wildlife and there is no coming back from that. It is entirely impossible to achieve a "net gain in biodiversity". That is just lip service to environmental policy and so bitterly disappointing.

It seems that much of the local plan is paying lip service to what the District Community would want to hear, but I call upon the NHDC to protect and preserve our quality of life in Hertfordshire and the rural nature of our environment. The local plan is not sustainable! The scale of housing growth and development in Hertfordshire is not a viable solution to the national housing shortage.

If you fail to protect the very nature of North Herts, a sharp decline in the living standard of this area is inevitable and a sharp increase in mental illness and poor health is certain to follow in the wake of such a devastating blow to North Hertfordshire.

I strongly object to the huge number of homes planned for the North of Hertfordshire, in excess of 7,000 that due to their siting will inevitably render the A1 corridor and surrounding road network, completely overwhelmed and unable to accommodate the weight of traffic. Even the most conservative estimate would put an additional 13,000 cars on the roads in the towns and villages adjacent to the A1 extending from Knebworth and Codicote to Stevenage, Hitchin, Letchworth and Baldock.

I strongly contest that NDHC has satisfied it's Duty to Cooperate with Welwyn Hatfield District Council, given the planned village at Simonshyde which would see a further 1,400 homes situated adjacent to the A1 that would add to the weight of traffic on the already burgeoning A1.

I reside in the Limberlost, Welwyn which is situated just off the B656, Codicote Road. The B656 is an essential commuter route that drivers use to access the A1 at junction 6 in Welwyn heading from Hitchin. Every morning on my journey to my children's school in Codicote, I have a clear view of the traffic trying to access the A1 on the B656 through Codicote. Since the new development of housing at the old Clock Hotel, the new development at Wilshere Park (The Frith) and the Welwyn exit lane for junction 6 on the A1, Welwyn village and the Welwyn Bypass have become gridlocked during peak times.

Any minor incident in the morning on the A1 or M25 will extend back to Welwyn and Stevenage to the point that the B656 is queueing for up to 2 miles beyond the northern boundary of Codicote. Not to mention the actual effect to the A1, and all major routes heading south.

My own family are already experiencing intolerable traffic jams travelling 6 miles from Welwyn Garden City to Codicote that can take as long as 50 minutes. These traffic jams are entirely due to cars trying to head north on the A1 from Welwyn to Stevenage and beyond. This is the kind of congestion that one would expect to experience during rush hour in London, not in North Hertfordshire. Policy SP7 details Infrastructure Requirements and stipulates that the plan should:

"avoid placing unreasonable additional burdens on the existing community or existing infrastructure."

Given the current weight of traffic on the A1 in North Herts and surrounding road network during peak times, it is unavoidable that the proposed scale of development will place a thoroughly unacceptable burden on the existing community and infrastructure.

Regarding the Countryside and Green Belt of North Hertfordshire, section 4.51 acknowledges that: "The vast majority of land in North Hertfordshire is rural in nature". With the scale of development planned for green belt areas, particularly in Codicote, the local plan threatens the very "nature" of the district. Further in section 4.144 the plan claims to acknowledge the importance of the "natural environment" in North Herts:

"The natural environment forms the setting to the towns and villages in which people live, work and spend their leisure time. Where possible, it should be protected and enhanced in the future to maintain the existing high quality of life that people in the District enjoy."

With this proposed level of development largely on green belt land, it is clear that the local plan has little regard for the quality of life of the existing residents, which will surely suffer as a result of the proposed new housing and vast swelling of the number of cars and new residents.

With particular reference to Codicote and the proposed site CD1 south of Cowards Lane, this site boarders an area of extreme environmental significance and supports an array of rare wildlife species in what is locally known as the Riddy, a wild meadow with wetland and a natural spring. This is a private wildlife habitat, part of Hollards Farm that has been managed as a wildlife preserve for more than 15 years. Policy SP12 states that the local plan should ensure that the "natural environment is protected and enhanced". Section b. provides further that NDHC should be making planning decisions to:

"Protect, enhance and manage biodiversity networks including wetlands and riverine habitats....and seek opportunities for net gains in biodiversity."

To think that it is possible to achieve a net gain in biodiversity is an absolute nonsense. Biodiversity relates to the complete ecosystem of an environment, which essentially includes wildlife. If you decimate the natural habitat of a wildlife population, you destroy the wildlife within that habitat. Why is it that conservation and wildlife preservation is only a matter for the tropics, the rainforests and the oceans? Wildlife preservation is your responsibility too.

If you destroy rural habitat in North Herts, particularly in Codicote, South of Cowards Lane, you are destroying the wildlife and there is no coming back from that. It is entirely impossible to achieve a "net gain in biodiversity". That is just lip service to environmental policy and so bitterly disappointing.

It seems that much of the local plan is paying lip service to what the District Community would want to hear, but I call upon the NHDC to protect and preserve our quality of life in Hertfordshire and the rural nature of our environment. The local plan is not sustainable! The scale of housing growth and development in Hertfordshire is not a viable solution to the national housing shortage.

If you fail to protect the very nature of North Herts, a sharp decline in the living standard of this area is inevitable and a sharp increase in mental illness and poor health is certain to follow in the wake of such a devastating blow to North Hertfordshire.