Local Plan 2011-2031 Proposed Submission Draft

I have lived in the small hamlet of Bygrave, just outside Baldock for the last 30 years and I wish to object to site BA1 on the Local Plan for the following reasons. Baldock is a medieval town with significant archaeological remains buried. There is currently a dig taking place on the site BA1 which I understand has made a significant discovery.

Whilst I appreciate that more housing is needed in North Hertfordshire I believe that locating this on site BA1 and the effect that a doubling of Baldock will have on the town is ill thought out. The fields that it is planned to build on have crops grown every year as well as sheep grazed on them. This will be lost to the detriment of the local area. The development will also join Baldock with the hamlet of Bygrave as the site goes up to the boundary of 1 Ashwell Road, Bygrave. The entire site is Green Belt land which should be protected.

I agree with the three local MPs for this area, Rt Hon Sir Oliver Heald QC, Rt Hon Peter Lilley and Stephen McPartland that a two stage plan is preferable. This would deal initially with the first 10 years looking at planning for the 3450 new homes which have not yet been identified to be found throughout the district before 2021. This period could then be used to identify and plan a new garden village development. With exiting the EU now in process the demand for housing in the future is not known.

The roads situation around Baldock is already very busy. Bygrave Road is a narrow country lane which leads in to the North Road. Traffic queues a long way back up this road due to the Clothall Road/Whitehorse Street/North Road/Royston Road traffic lights and the sheer volume of traffic trying to get through Baldock. This junction cannot be altered as there are listed buildings on two sides of this road (including Raban Court which was built in the 1500's). So, some of the traffic from the BA1 development will come out on to this road. A railway bridge goes over this road and is one lane each way with a very narrow pavement on both sides. The height of this bridge is 14'6" and there are regular bridge strikes. Some of these cause damage and Network Rail are involved in the repair. The trains are also disrupted. There are also frequent occasions where lorries realise they cannot get through and then cause traffic disruption whilst they make dangerous manoeuvres as they try and turn round. The A1 is already at a standstill during the rush hour period and the extra vehicles that will come from this development will make a dreadful situation worse. The Gresley Park proposals in Stevenage where 600 houses are planned. Traffic from this development will also add to the large number of vehicles travelling on the A1.

Govia Thameslink Railway are currently undertaking a timetable consultation for 2018 and are planning to reduce the number of trains stopping at Baldock. Until Sir Oliver Heald and the Baldock Councillors met GTR they were totally unaware of the Local Plan and the number of homes being built, with the resultant requirement of train travel. There is not enough possible local employment for these residents and they will need to travel to London and Cambridge for work.

NHDC intend to build a link road and bridge over the railway line. This will undoubtedly be in the view of a large part of Baldock and the new development. The traffic noise will be heard far and wide and ruin the local environment.

Air quality is also a concern. Baldock is located in a valley and prior to the Baldock bypass being built the levels of asthma in local children was well above the national average. After the opening of the bypass, air quality and other environmental factors improved in and around the town. The large number of homes proposed for Baldock will increase damaging air pollution.

The site BA1 is the home of several red listed birds. In particular the corn bunting which had massively declined in numbers up until 2010. It also provides the habitat for yellow wagtail, grey partridge and linnet. Other birds of interest to the RSPB which have a farmland habitat are the skylark, lapwing, yellowhammer and reed bunting and these have been seen here. There is a designated 'Heritage Verge' on the road between Baldock and Bygrave with examples of flora and fauna indigenous to the area which would be compromised by the development.

The proposals are ill conceived and badly thought out and I implore you to re-consider the Plan.