Local Plan 2011-2031 Proposed Submission Draft

To me, and I am sure most other Knebworth residents, the case against the plan for building so many houses is overwhelming on many grounds. I have little faith in the consultation exercise, seeing it as largely illusory, with little hope of anyone reading our emails let alone taking any notice. Nevertheless I will state my objections, to give you something to ignore.

First, this plan shows how meaningless the term "greenbelt" has become. You blithely build all over greenbelt land, turning the country into one extended rural sprawl. Once you have built some houses on our greenbelt land, there is progressively less justification for us to fight against further depredation, until all greenbelt land has gone. In the future people will look back on this and see it as a crime.

Secondly, I am sure some of the pressure for this huge expansion comes from private landowners with £ signs flashing in their eyes. A few years ago a proposal for a free school here was rightly rejected, but it was clear to me that the driving force behind the plan was the linked scheme to build a great many houses for private profit.

Finally, I think everyone accepts that there is a need nationally to build many more houses, and I certainly agree. However, the drift south is a national disaster. There should be much more development and redevelopment in the midlands, the north east, and the north west. Otherwise the south east is going to become one huge sprawl like Mexico City.