Local Plan 2011-2031 Proposed Submission Draft

Strategy:
The strategy is not clear is not clear at all. Therefore, the plan is not sound. Knebworth is a village, not a town as it is referred in the Plan.
Housing Proposals:
The addition of 663 new houses would substantially increase the size of the village. This is an increase of around 200 homes to what the Plan two years ago proposed. There were a number of issues raised then around infrastructure and none have been addressed. It's difficult to understand how the village can now support the additional homes without a sound strategy or plan.
It could be suggested that because of the proposed separate sites the developer obligations have been overlooked (I am aware that plans for over 500 plans should have a specific plan with developer obligations)
The site KB4 has not previously undergone any consultation. Surely this is against policy?
Planning has been granted for the Odyssey site to the north of Knebworth for approx. 70-100 homes. This doesn't appear to have been taken into account when determining amount of housing for Knebworth. A transparent and clear strategy should take these into account.
Chas Lowe site: Again, as there is no proposal for any commercial uses it is evidence of a lack of strategy for Knebworth. Rumour has it that this site has been sold to a 'retirement home developer' Do we really need more homes for the over 50s? in the village? We seem to have a vast amount already for what is a village community. If retirement flats or indeed any flats are built on this site the village centre will be changed dramatically.
The High Street in Knebworth is a designated village centre in the retail hierarchy under policy SP4. Therefore, any development of the village centre needs to take this into account. At a bare minimum, some mixed use should be proposed. There is already a disproportion of homes to leisure and retail facilities. Residents of Knebworth want to see the village thrive and the high street is at the centre of this.
There appears to be no consideration of developments to our adjacent parishes. For example plans for Woolmer Green of 150 homes (to the north of Woolmer Green) have not been taken into account. If all the proposals go ahead then Knebworth and Woolmer Green will merge and Stevenage and Knebworth would be pretty much joined. The town and villages will all merge into one.
This leads on to Green Belt issues. This green belt land makes a significant contribution to protecting spaces between towns and maintaining the Knebworth Village identity. Development of sites KB1 and KB2 will remove the Green Belt buffer between the village and the A1. There will be a dramatic loss of open countryside.
Drainage issues have been raised many times. Surface water is already a constant problem; this will be highlighted further with increased housing.

Transport:
The railway line poses huge challenges regarding transport / traffic through the village. The two railway bridges at either end of the village dangerous due to the current volume of traffic, narrow roads, corners, and narrow pavements. An increase in volume of traffic and pedestrians will make this increasingly dangerous. This has not been acknowledged or addressed in the plan.
These two routes are used children going to and from school, in the morning and afternoon. An increase in housing will only add to the problems and no doubt there will be accidents.
The high street is also a known problem/rat run and increased traffic due to increased housing will only exacerbate this.
Deards End Lane cannot be widened. It is unsuitable for heavy traffic and increased traffic will make it more dangerous and over-crowded.
In the Plan (13.192) it states that much of the traffic in the mornings is caused by secondary school pupils going to school in the car. Virtually ALL secondary school pupils use the trains (to Hitchin and Hatfield) and the school provided buses (to Stevenage, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, Hertford, Ware), and buses. Therefore, the idea that possible secondary school provision could ease the traffic volume is simply inaccurate. Perhaps a study could have been done to back this up?
Regarding site KB4, there is a clear lack of capacity on Watton Road and Swangley's Lane.

Schooling:
A second primary school on site KB2 has not been thought through properly. This would be adjacent to the A1 and as such noise and air pollution will be significant. In December 2014 the Environmental Audit Committee issued a report stating that: 'A ban on building schools, hospitals, and care homes near air pollution hotspots must be introduced to help cut thousands of deaths connected to the 'invisible killer' of traffic fumes.' This has really not been considered.
Furthermore introducing a second primary school to the village would change the village feel of Knebworth to more of a town. People choose to live in a village as they like the close knit community ethos. One school would inevitably be 'better' than the other and this would create a divide in the village.
It would increase pressure on the roads under on the railway bridges because more people would be crossing the village each morning, in both directions, with young children. I would be naïve to assume that parents would automatically chose the primary school nearest to them, or on their side of the village
Secondary:
13.193 mentions an 'all-through' school. It uses the term 'possibly' and 'provides the opportunity to look at alternative approaches' .This is left very 'woolly' and provides no re-assurance for Knebworth residents. .
It does not seem likely that a secondary school would be built; in fact, this was opposed some years ago.
Knebworth does not have a specific catchment for secondary schooling and access to good secondary schooling is an issue for our children. With a proposal for such an increased population this would put further strain on a lack of 'quality' secondary school places.
Other facilities (doctors, library, pharmacy):
The Plan states that the planning permission has already been granted for a new doctor's surgery and library. This is true, but this is to REPLACE the current doctor's surgery and library; this did not take into account the additional population. The Dr's surgery is always very busy and difficult to get appointments. Therefore, the services provided will not meet the requirements of a village increased by 663 homes and their residents.

Strategy:
The strategy is not clear is not clear at all. Therefore, the plan is not sound. Knebworth is a village, not a town as it is referred in the Plan.
Housing Proposals:
The addition of 663 new houses would substantially increase the size of the village. This is an increase of around 200 homes to what the Plan two years ago proposed. There were a number of issues raised then around infrastructure and none have been addressed. It's difficult to understand how the village can now support the additional homes without a sound strategy or plan.
It could be suggested that because of the proposed separate sites the developer obligations have been overlooked (I am aware that plans for over 500 plans should have a specific plan with developer obligations)
The site KB4 has not previously undergone any consultation. Surely this is against policy?
Planning has been granted for the Odyssey site to the north of Knebworth for approx. 70-100 homes. This doesn't appear to have been taken into account when determining amount of housing for Knebworth. A transparent and clear strategy should take these into account.
Chas Lowe site: Again, as there is no proposal for any commercial uses it is evidence of a lack of strategy for Knebworth. Rumour has it that this site has been sold to a 'retirement home developer' Do we really need more homes for the over 50s? in the village? We seem to have a vast amount already for what is a village community. If retirement flats or indeed any flats are built on this site the village centre will be changed dramatically.
The High Street in Knebworth is a designated village centre in the retail hierarchy under policy SP4. Therefore, any development of the village centre needs to take this into account. At a bare minimum, some mixed use should be proposed. There is already a disproportion of homes to leisure and retail facilities. Residents of Knebworth want to see the village thrive and the high street is at the centre of this.
There appears to be no consideration of developments to our adjacent parishes. For example plans for Woolmer Green of 150 homes (to the north of Woolmer Green) have not been taken into account. If all the proposals go ahead then Knebworth and Woolmer Green will merge and Stevenage and Knebworth would be pretty much joined. The town and villages will all merge into one.
This leads on to Green Belt issues. This green belt land makes a significant contribution to protecting spaces between towns and maintaining the Knebworth Village identity. Development of sites KB1 and KB2 will remove the Green Belt buffer between the village and the A1. There will be a dramatic loss of open countryside.
Drainage issues have been raised many times. Surface water is already a constant problem; this will be highlighted further with increased housing.

Transport:
The railway line poses huge challenges regarding transport / traffic through the village. The two railway bridges at either end of the village dangerous due to the current volume of traffic, narrow roads, corners, and narrow pavements. An increase in volume of traffic and pedestrians will make this increasingly dangerous. This has not been acknowledged or addressed in the plan.
These two routes are used children going to and from school, in the morning and afternoon. An increase in housing will only add to the problems and no doubt there will be accidents.
The high street is also a known problem/rat run and increased traffic due to increased housing will only exacerbate this.
Deards End Lane cannot be widened. It is unsuitable for heavy traffic and increased traffic will make it more dangerous and over-crowded.
In the Plan (13.192) it states that much of the traffic in the mornings is caused by secondary school pupils going to school in the car. Virtually ALL secondary school pupils use the trains (to Hitchin and Hatfield) and the school provided buses (to Stevenage, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, Hertford, Ware), and buses. Therefore, the idea that possible secondary school provision could ease the traffic volume is simply inaccurate. Perhaps a study could have been done to back this up?
Regarding site KB4, there is a clear lack of capacity on Watton Road and Swangley's Lane.

Schooling:
A second primary school on site KB2 has not been thought through properly. This would be adjacent to the A1 and as such noise and air pollution will be significant. In December 2014 the Environmental Audit Committee issued a report stating that: 'A ban on building schools, hospitals, and care homes near air pollution hotspots must be introduced to help cut thousands of deaths connected to the 'invisible killer' of traffic fumes.' This has really not been considered.
Furthermore introducing a second primary school to the village would change the village feel of Knebworth to more of a town. People choose to live in a village as they like the close knit community ethos. One school would inevitably be 'better' than the other and this would create a divide in the village.
It would increase pressure on the roads under on the railway bridges because more people would be crossing the village each morning, in both directions, with young children. I would be naïve to assume that parents would automatically chose the primary school nearest to them, or on their side of the village
Secondary:
13.193 mentions an 'all-through' school. It uses the term 'possibly' and 'provides the opportunity to look at alternative approaches' .This is left very 'woolly' and provides no re-assurance for Knebworth residents. .
It does not seem likely that a secondary school would be built; in fact, this was opposed some years ago.
Knebworth does not have a specific catchment for secondary schooling and access to good secondary schooling is an issue for our children. With a proposal for such an increased population this would put further strain on a lack of 'quality' secondary school places.
Other facilities (doctors, library, pharmacy):
The Plan states that the planning permission has already been granted for a new doctor's surgery and library. This is true, but this is to REPLACE the current doctor's surgery and library; this did not take into account the additional population. The Dr's surgery is always very busy and difficult to get appointments. Therefore, the services provided will not meet the requirements of a village increased by 663 homes and their residents.

Strategy:
The strategy is not clear is not clear at all. Therefore, the plan is not sound. Knebworth is a village, not a town as it is referred in the Plan.
Housing Proposals:
The addition of 663 new houses would substantially increase the size of the village. This is an increase of around 200 homes to what the Plan two years ago proposed. There were a number of issues raised then around infrastructure and none have been addressed. It's difficult to understand how the village can now support the additional homes without a sound strategy or plan.
It could be suggested that because of the proposed separate sites the developer obligations have been overlooked (I am aware that plans for over 500 plans should have a specific plan with developer obligations)
The site KB4 has not previously undergone any consultation. Surely this is against policy?
Planning has been granted for the Odyssey site to the north of Knebworth for approx. 70-100 homes. This doesn't appear to have been taken into account when determining amount of housing for Knebworth. A transparent and clear strategy should take these into account.
Chas Lowe site: Again, as there is no proposal for any commercial uses it is evidence of a lack of strategy for Knebworth. Rumour has it that this site has been sold to a 'retirement home developer' Do we really need more homes for the over 50s? in the village? We seem to have a vast amount already for what is a village community. If retirement flats or indeed any flats are built on this site the village centre will be changed dramatically.
The High Street in Knebworth is a designated village centre in the retail hierarchy under policy SP4. Therefore, any development of the village centre needs to take this into account. At a bare minimum, some mixed use should be proposed. There is already a disproportion of homes to leisure and retail facilities. Residents of Knebworth want to see the village thrive and the high street is at the centre of this.
There appears to be no consideration of developments to our adjacent parishes. For example plans for Woolmer Green of 150 homes (to the north of Woolmer Green) have not been taken into account. If all the proposals go ahead then Knebworth and Woolmer Green will merge and Stevenage and Knebworth would be pretty much joined. The town and villages will all merge into one.
This leads on to Green Belt issues. This green belt land makes a significant contribution to protecting spaces between towns and maintaining the Knebworth Village identity. Development of sites KB1 and KB2 will remove the Green Belt buffer between the village and the A1. There will be a dramatic loss of open countryside.
Drainage issues have been raised many times. Surface water is already a constant problem; this will be highlighted further with increased housing.

Transport:
The railway line poses huge challenges regarding transport / traffic through the village. The two railway bridges at either end of the village dangerous due to the current volume of traffic, narrow roads, corners, and narrow pavements. An increase in volume of traffic and pedestrians will make this increasingly dangerous. This has not been acknowledged or addressed in the plan.
These two routes are used children going to and from school, in the morning and afternoon. An increase in housing will only add to the problems and no doubt there will be accidents.
The high street is also a known problem/rat run and increased traffic due to increased housing will only exacerbate this.
Deards End Lane cannot be widened. It is unsuitable for heavy traffic and increased traffic will make it more dangerous and over-crowded.
In the Plan (13.192) it states that much of the traffic in the mornings is caused by secondary school pupils going to school in the car. Virtually ALL secondary school pupils use the trains (to Hitchin and Hatfield) and the school provided buses (to Stevenage, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, Hertford, Ware), and buses. Therefore, the idea that possible secondary school provision could ease the traffic volume is simply inaccurate. Perhaps a study could have been done to back this up?
Regarding site KB4, there is a clear lack of capacity on Watton Road and Swangley's Lane.

Schooling:
A second primary school on site KB2 has not been thought through properly. This would be adjacent to the A1 and as such noise and air pollution will be significant. In December 2014 the Environmental Audit Committee issued a report stating that: 'A ban on building schools, hospitals, and care homes near air pollution hotspots must be introduced to help cut thousands of deaths connected to the 'invisible killer' of traffic fumes.' This has really not been considered.
Furthermore introducing a second primary school to the village would change the village feel of Knebworth to more of a town. People choose to live in a village as they like the close knit community ethos. One school would inevitably be 'better' than the other and this would create a divide in the village.
It would increase pressure on the roads under on the railway bridges because more people would be crossing the village each morning, in both directions, with young children. I would be naïve to assume that parents would automatically chose the primary school nearest to them, or on their side of the village
Secondary:
13.193 mentions an 'all-through' school. It uses the term 'possibly' and 'provides the opportunity to look at alternative approaches' .This is left very 'woolly' and provides no re-assurance for Knebworth residents. .
It does not seem likely that a secondary school would be built; in fact, this was opposed some years ago.
Knebworth does not have a specific catchment for secondary schooling and access to good secondary schooling is an issue for our children. With a proposal for such an increased population this would put further strain on a lack of 'quality' secondary school places.
Other facilities (doctors, library, pharmacy):
The Plan states that the planning permission has already been granted for a new doctor's surgery and library. This is true, but this is to REPLACE the current doctor's surgery and library; this did not take into account the additional population. The Dr's surgery is always very busy and difficult to get appointments. Therefore, the services provided will not meet the requirements of a village increased by 663 homes and their residents.