Local Plan 2011-2031 Proposed Submission Draft

I am writing to object to the above plan that proposes housing developments on the border between Cockenhoe, Mangrove, Tea Green and Luton. My objection is based on the following grounds:-

* The land is Green belt and should not be developed.
* The existing road network is totally inadequate.
* The infrastructure needed to support this development is not in place.

Full details to support my objections are listed below: -

Green Belt

The green belt was created to stop the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas and to safeguard the countryside from encroachment. This latest plan seeks to develop the green corridor between Luton and the villages of Cockernhoe, Mangrove Green and Tea Green. In essence this application is extending the Borough of Luton that clearly, under the rules of the Town and Country Planning Act 1947, should not be considered.

Furthermore the green belt seeks to encourage the recycling of existing "brown field sites", currently there are two major brown field sites in the East of Luton which have yet to be developed, the former Vauxhall Motors Car Plant in Kimpton Road and the Power court site off Crawley green road. No plans to develop the Land in North Hertfordshire that boarders Luton should not be considered until both of these sites have been developed and the associated effect on traffic flow and local infrastructure fully understood.
Existing Road Network
The proposed development is reliant on two existing roads for access. (Crawley Green Road and Eaton Green Road), both of these roads were last upgraded in 1950 when the existing county lanes were widened to support Ashcroft and Eaton Green housing estates.

Since 1950 these roads have had to cope not only with the additional traffic created by the increase in car ownership in the intervening 60 years, but also traffic from three additional housing estates, Wigmore Bottom, Wigmore Hall and County View along with two additional commercial/retail estates, Airport Trading Estate and the Wigmore Place/ASDA commercial and retail developments. As a consequence these roads cannot currently cope on a daily basis and at key times it is not un-common for both roads to become gridlocked.

The state of these two roads will be further exacerbated when the brown field sites that I have previously referred to in Kimpton Road and Crawley Green road are developed. In short the existing roads were not designed to cope and cannot cope with the current levels of traffic, therefore any development to the East of Luton in North Hertfordshire should not be considered as it will place further traffic onto Eaton Green or Crawley Green Roads.

Supporting infrastructure

The three secondary schools serving east Luton that will be directly impacted by any development are currently oversubscribed with a similar situation prevailing in the neighboring schools in Hitchin. Even if space could be found in other schools in Luton or Hertfordshire this would require that children be taken to school by bus or car which will only add further congestion to the already overstretched local roads.

With only single track country roads to the east of the proposed development I can only assume that Emergency provisions such as healthcare, policing, fire and rescue would need to be provided by Luton, placing further undue strain on already stretched services and roads. (Land locked local hospital with no scope for development etc.)

Please can you confirm that you are in receipt of this email and that the objections I have made will be considered as part of this review of the North Hertfordshire local plan 2011 - 2031?