Local Plan 2011-2031 Proposed Submission Draft

Please accept this e-mail as a 'formal objection' to the proposed NHDC Local Plan which will see 315 new houses built on Green Belt land in Codicote, for your consideration.

I fully understand the need for new housing to be built as the population grows and that the houses proposed in Codicote are just part of an overall bigger picture, but without any other vital infrastructure put in place in Codicote, the village will simply not be able to cope with the increase and demand in population!

There are a number of detrimental implications to the village which are as follows: -

* Environment & Wildlife - Green belt land would be taken away to provide the area for these new houses, therefore harming the rural nature to the village and wildlife that would use that land at present.
* Character - Most houses in the village are 'individual' in their look/character and to build more houses which just look the same would ruin that.
* Traffic & Parking - This is already a serious problem as many people use the village as a cut through from the A1 to Hitchin when the A1 gets busy at J6 which is every day. The high street is already jammed with cars parked on both sides of the street, obstructing the flow of traffic and also the pavements for pedestrians. This along with the local quarry which has numerous lorries using the village to access it, mean any increase in population will mean an increase in cars, traffic and most likely accidents. There is nowhere to park already, so goodness knows where any new cars will park.
* Transport - Most people in Codicote use their car to get to and from work, to travel anywhere as there is a limited bus service, so this would put even more strain on traffic and also public transport.
* Services - The village has limited shops, etc. serving the existing population, so any increase would see people having to travel for shopping, etc., again putting more strain on traffic.
* Schooling - The village only has one primary school and no secondary school, so again an increase in population would need greater schooling.

Whilst an increase in local housing can provide a boost for certain people such as shops, restaurants, etc., overall it has a big negative on most of the issues important to those that live there already...traffic, noise, pollution, environment, etc., so this is why I object very strongly to these proposals. As an alternative, perhaps a smaller number of new houses could be approved on maybe 1 or 2 of the sites, but not all 4!