Local Plan 2011-2031 Proposed Submission Draft

I am writing to ask you to consider all the local arguments for not allowing any further development in/around Knebworth[...]

As a commuter village already we have considerable issues with parking and road safety on a daily basis [...] 2 years ago a parking permit scheme was set up along [Pondcroft Road] and Milestone Road to stop parking for the station everyday.
I agree this has worked in principal [...]for our roads, but has only pushed the issue further away from the station, not eradicated it. My point is with all the existing traffic parked and the fact the high street is terribly congested as it is, how do you think the daily life of us residents will be affected by builders lorries, earth moving trucks, deliveries and so on, for a considerable period of time.

It is already a 'take your life in your own hands' when crossing the High Street (even at pedestrian crossings), Pondcroft Road, Station approach, Milestone Road... as drivers use these to by pass the high street at major congested times - school pick up /drop off, 4.30-6pm etc etc.

I have experienced very close misses [...] Plus with cars parked along both sides you get a complete jam where no one will give way to anyone else - particularly annoying if you are trying to park outside your home.

I do not see that this will get any better while a considerable amount of site traffic will be making its way into and out of the village everyday for a prolonged period of time.
What about damage to the roads? The pot holes are already terrible - several in Pondcroft Road itself, and all the mud and debris that will be distributed by lorries etc? Who will be responsible for cleaning the roads and making sure they are safe for other road users? A huge amount of mud and debris can be very slippery and dangerous to drive on never mind pedestrians having to walk near.

When it rains, we already have huge problems with flooding in the High Street and along Pondcroft Road, the houses on the odd numbered side of the road have suffered with water ingress during heavy rain storms. The infrastructure of the old pipes and drainage systems can not cope. If you add to this all the mud and dirt from the building site, plus more 'solid surfaces' (ie: not grassland for water to be absorbed by), the consequences will be enormous. The old drainage system simply can not cope with what we already have, let alone more.

The services to the village, gas, water, sewerage etc, are all old and we frequently have to deal with blockages along Pondcroft Road. The old sewers could not cope with more being added on a daily basis - and who would be left to deal with any issues? As most of the work is being suggested for the land at the top of the village and out towards the Crematorium, I suggest the High Street and us closest in adjoining roads will yet again be forced to endure possibly hideous, health threatening circumstances, with the drains already unable to cope and the sewers also.

The school - a 'local' primary and nursery school - a very good school. But already at capacity. Each class has over 25 children in it.The school is massively over subscribed every year and children living in the village do not get their first choice as there are so many people applying.
Where would all the children from the new houses go to school?
And again secondary schools? All the schools in the local area are at capacity?

Is there funding for a new much larger primary school? Or another secondary or Middle school? How will all these children get to and from school? More cars, more buses? More congestion in our village.

And I feel that probably the largest issue is how will all the lorries get in and out? We are effectively cut off by the railway line. The bridges are too low for large cranes/lorries/earth moving trucks etc. How do you propose to get the vehicles in and out of the village? All the way through Codicote and Old Knebworth?

The estimates to widen the railway crossings when there was consultation for a secondary school to be built in the village, were massive, over 5 Million I recall - where will that be funded from? And both the rail crossings would have to be made larger.

The one crossing Gun Road is narrow and dangerous on a bend, the one by the station is wider but not high enough for large vehicles, and the one in Woolmer Green is even lower/narrower. And there is a weight limit on the bridge in Deards End Lane.

We live in a village. and even over the last 40 years many changes have happened and the village has grown, but the extensive development now being suggested would eradicate Knebworth as it is known. You many as well call us Stevenage South.

I would be interested in being kept informed with where the proposals are at, if that is possible.