Local Plan 2011-2031 Proposed Submission Draft

I would like to put forward the following comments for consideration by the Planning Inspector.

Knebworth has already grown massively over the past 40 years with Green Belt being taken and used for housing (hundreds of new dwellings in the Rialto estate during the 1980s and the Wimpey estate during the late 1970s), plus more recent housing developments on brownfield sites within the village. All this without any increase in infrastructure or facilities to date. Knebworth is currently at breaking point and cannot sustain any further large housing schemes. All facilities within the village are stretched beyond their limit. The school is oversubscribed and the health providers over capacity. The village cannot sustain the proposed 31% increase in housing and the loss of Green Belt around the entire village is against Government policy of protecting space around villages to maintain a separate identity and will definitely not support the character of Knebworth as it is. So living conditions will not be sustained for current residents.

Traffic in Knebworth has a long history of being a disaster. The A1(M) was built as a bypass around Knebworth. However, the congested B197 continued to be very busy with local traffic and previous plans to widen the A1(M) to alleviate the problem were abandoned. So the existence of the traffic issues in and around Knebworth have been known for years, but the issue has never been properly addressed and the B197 is busy, almost continuously. This is made worse whenever there is a problem on the A1(M) and all traffic comes through the village centre. Often there is complete gridlock.

All proposed developments in Knebworth and north of Knebworth along the A1(M) would have an impact on local roads. While the plan to use the hard shoulder of the A1(M) between junctions 6 and 8 may help current traffic flow a little, with the proposal to have over 14,000 new dwellings in North Hertfordshire, this is nowhere near enough. The volume of traffic and importance of the A1(M) to Knebworth should not be underestimated. The current two lane section and the route south should be widened to four lanes before any house building work commences. Also, the plan to widen the Welwyn viaduct to eliminate the bottle neck for trains there should be revisited. There is currently often standing room only on commuter trains from very early in the morning. The rail infrastructure in the area needs vast investment and parking provision for Knebworth train commuters should be increased to sustain even the status quo.

Local residents are often unable to even get out of side roads to join the main road. Any increase in the volume of commuter or social traffic due to an increase in population can only make these situations more likely and last longer. This is not in line with the sustainable journeys to services and facilities desired in the Preferred Options Consultation Paper.

The new houses are likely to be bought by workers employed elsewhere and add to the current traffic and parking problems. The proposals for Knebworth will increase pressure on the infrastructure. The side roads of Knebworth are divided by three bridges. All these are narrow with very narrow footpaths. In addition, leaving Knebworth along the B197 towards Welwyn Garden City the road layout has recently changed to widen the footpaths and narrow down the road, bus stops are opposite each other and buses stopping there halt traffic completely from time to time. Shortly after this, there is another narrow bridge. Two of the bridges in the centre of Knebworth have electrical substations next to them and are therefore unlikely to be able to be widened.

Previous developments were supposed to have a certain housing density and provide multiple accesses to and from the estates, but this did not happen. There is only one access to each large estate and the density of the housing built was higher than that agreed.

Parking is another major issue. Knebworth lacks sufficient parking even for current requirements let alone additional needs. Roads around the station area have commuter cars parked from 5a.m. during the week. Actions to relieve parking close to the station only served to push the problems to residential roads slightly further away. Knebworth station is not only used by Knebworth residents, but also residents of Codicote, Woolmer Green, Datchworth, Bragbury End and all other local rural settlements. The trains are packed every day.

It is true that limited parking is allowed in the village centre, but this is vital to keep the local businesses going. If short term parking was not allowed, customers would be driving straight through to the nearest supermarket and local traders would not be able to sustain their business. There has not been any provision within the NHDC proposal for increasing or improving local trade, retail or commercial. This adds to Knebworth becoming a dormitory village, so not even local trading can be sustained.

I believe that previous housing development proposals have been discounted due to the constraints in the infrastructure of connecting to the Rye Meads Sewage Works which services Knebworth sewage and that this is still a relevant limitation.

The allocation of 31% increase in housing for Knebworth does not seem justified as there is a large plot of land to the West of Stevenage, reserved by NHDC for housing development. It would seem more logical to use that land, with direct access to the A1(M), for housing without destroying the sustainability of Knebworth and other North Hertfordshire villages. Future planning should then be directed towards a completely new town or garden city type settlement, with infrastructure put in place before house-building begins. Currently proposals seem to be directed towards total coalescence along the B197, or with Stevenage, neither of which would be a good outcome.

All these issues, which would impact enormously on the quality of life of Knebworth residents, have been raised in previous suggested developments. There have been local meetings with planning officers attending to hear residents' concerns, but their concerns do not seem to have been addressed. In fact, quite the opposite, this latest proposal is much, much bigger than anything previously suggested, especially as none of the infrastructure problems have been solved.

KB1
This site is currently in the Green Belt, government policy saying that housing does not justify going into the Green Belt, makes this site unsuitable. The narrow bridge giving access to this site is unsuitable for heavy traffic and would damage the character of the Deards End Conservation Area. It is close to the motorway and therefore there are risks of pollution and traffic noise.

KB2
This site is currently in the Green Belt, government policy saying that housing does not justify going into the Green Belt, makes this site unsuitable. The narrow bridge giving access to this site is unsuitable for heavy traffic and would damage the character of the Stockens Green Conservation Area. It is close to the motorway and therefore there are risks of pollution and traffic noise.

KB3
Although vehicles going in and out of this site can currently be a traffic problem, it is a large employment site. It brings outside customers into Knebworth, who then use other facilities such as cafes and shops within the village. Change of use here, without commercial proposals, could reduce the sustainability of village trading. In the past, there have also been issues in the main road due to flooding.

KB4
This site is currently in the Green Belt, government policy saying that housing does not justify going into the Green Belt, makes this site unsuitable. Building on this site creates a danger of coalescence with Stevenage destroying the whole character of Knebworth village. It is currently productive agricultural land and an area of open landscape viewed from the village. There have been flooding problems on this land over many years, mainly due to poor drainage and a high water table. Hard standing will surely increase flooding problems.

I would like to put forward the following comments for consideration by the Planning Inspector.

Knebworth has already grown massively over the past 40 years with Green Belt being taken and used for housing (hundreds of new dwellings in the Rialto estate during the 1980s and the Wimpey estate during the late 1970s), plus more recent housing developments on brownfield sites within the village. All this without any increase in infrastructure or facilities to date. Knebworth is currently at breaking point and cannot sustain any further large housing schemes. All facilities within the village are stretched beyond their limit. The school is oversubscribed and the health providers over capacity. The village cannot sustain the proposed 31% increase in housing and the loss of Green Belt around the entire village is against Government policy of protecting space around villages to maintain a separate identity and will definitely not support the character of Knebworth as it is. So living conditions will not be sustained for current residents.

Traffic in Knebworth has a long history of being a disaster. The A1(M) was built as a bypass around Knebworth. However, the congested B197 continued to be very busy with local traffic and previous plans to widen the A1(M) to alleviate the problem were abandoned. So the existence of the traffic issues in and around Knebworth have been known for years, but the issue has never been properly addressed and the B197 is busy, almost continuously. This is made worse whenever there is a problem on the A1(M) and all traffic comes through the village centre. Often there is complete gridlock.

All proposed developments in Knebworth and north of Knebworth along the A1(M) would have an impact on local roads. While the plan to use the hard shoulder of the A1(M) between junctions 6 and 8 may help current traffic flow a little, with the proposal to have over 14,000 new dwellings in North Hertfordshire, this is nowhere near enough. The volume of traffic and importance of the A1(M) to Knebworth should not be underestimated. The current two lane section and the route south should be widened to four lanes before any house building work commences. Also, the plan to widen the Welwyn viaduct to eliminate the bottle neck for trains there should be revisited. There is currently often standing room only on commuter trains from very early in the morning. The rail infrastructure in the area needs vast investment and parking provision for Knebworth train commuters should be increased to sustain even the status quo.

Local residents are often unable to even get out of side roads to join the main road. Any increase in the volume of commuter or social traffic due to an increase in population can only make these situations more likely and last longer. This is not in line with the sustainable journeys to services and facilities desired in the Preferred Options Consultation Paper.

The new houses are likely to be bought by workers employed elsewhere and add to the current traffic and parking problems. The proposals for Knebworth will increase pressure on the infrastructure. The side roads of Knebworth are divided by three bridges. All these are narrow with very narrow footpaths. In addition, leaving Knebworth along the B197 towards Welwyn Garden City the road layout has recently changed to widen the footpaths and narrow down the road, bus stops are opposite each other and buses stopping there halt traffic completely from time to time. Shortly after this, there is another narrow bridge. Two of the bridges in the centre of Knebworth have electrical substations next to them and are therefore unlikely to be able to be widened.

Previous developments were supposed to have a certain housing density and provide multiple accesses to and from the estates, but this did not happen. There is only one access to each large estate and the density of the housing built was higher than that agreed.

Parking is another major issue. Knebworth lacks sufficient parking even for current requirements let alone additional needs. Roads around the station area have commuter cars parked from 5a.m. during the week. Actions to relieve parking close to the station only served to push the problems to residential roads slightly further away. Knebworth station is not only used by Knebworth residents, but also residents of Codicote, Woolmer Green, Datchworth, Bragbury End and all other local rural settlements. The trains are packed every day.

It is true that limited parking is allowed in the village centre, but this is vital to keep the local businesses going. If short term parking was not allowed, customers would be driving straight through to the nearest supermarket and local traders would not be able to sustain their business. There has not been any provision within the NHDC proposal for increasing or improving local trade, retail or commercial. This adds to Knebworth becoming a dormitory village, so not even local trading can be sustained.

I believe that previous housing development proposals have been discounted due to the constraints in the infrastructure of connecting to the Rye Meads Sewage Works which services Knebworth sewage and that this is still a relevant limitation.

The allocation of 31% increase in housing for Knebworth does not seem justified as there is a large plot of land to the West of Stevenage, reserved by NHDC for housing development. It would seem more logical to use that land, with direct access to the A1(M), for housing without destroying the sustainability of Knebworth and other North Hertfordshire villages. Future planning should then be directed towards a completely new town or garden city type settlement, with infrastructure put in place before house-building begins. Currently proposals seem to be directed towards total coalescence along the B197, or with Stevenage, neither of which would be a good outcome.

All these issues, which would impact enormously on the quality of life of Knebworth residents, have been raised in previous suggested developments. There have been local meetings with planning officers attending to hear residents' concerns, but their concerns do not seem to have been addressed. In fact, quite the opposite, this latest proposal is much, much bigger than anything previously suggested, especially as none of the infrastructure problems have been solved.

KB1
This site is currently in the Green Belt, government policy saying that housing does not justify going into the Green Belt, makes this site unsuitable. The narrow bridge giving access to this site is unsuitable for heavy traffic and would damage the character of the Deards End Conservation Area. It is close to the motorway and therefore there are risks of pollution and traffic noise.

KB2
This site is currently in the Green Belt, government policy saying that housing does not justify going into the Green Belt, makes this site unsuitable. The narrow bridge giving access to this site is unsuitable for heavy traffic and would damage the character of the Stockens Green Conservation Area. It is close to the motorway and therefore there are risks of pollution and traffic noise.

KB3
Although vehicles going in and out of this site can currently be a traffic problem, it is a large employment site. It brings outside customers into Knebworth, who then use other facilities such as cafes and shops within the village. Change of use here, without commercial proposals, could reduce the sustainability of village trading. In the past, there have also been issues in the main road due to flooding.

KB4
This site is currently in the Green Belt, government policy saying that housing does not justify going into the Green Belt, makes this site unsuitable. Building on this site creates a danger of coalescence with Stevenage destroying the whole character of Knebworth village. It is currently productive agricultural land and an area of open landscape viewed from the village. There have been flooding problems on this land over many years, mainly due to poor drainage and a high water table. Hard standing will surely increase flooding problems.

I would like to put forward the following comments for consideration by the Planning Inspector.

Knebworth has already grown massively over the past 40 years with Green Belt being taken and used for housing (hundreds of new dwellings in the Rialto estate during the 1980s and the Wimpey estate during the late 1970s), plus more recent housing developments on brownfield sites within the village. All this without any increase in infrastructure or facilities to date. Knebworth is currently at breaking point and cannot sustain any further large housing schemes. All facilities within the village are stretched beyond their limit. The school is oversubscribed and the health providers over capacity. The village cannot sustain the proposed 31% increase in housing and the loss of Green Belt around the entire village is against Government policy of protecting space around villages to maintain a separate identity and will definitely not support the character of Knebworth as it is. So living conditions will not be sustained for current residents.

Traffic in Knebworth has a long history of being a disaster. The A1(M) was built as a bypass around Knebworth. However, the congested B197 continued to be very busy with local traffic and previous plans to widen the A1(M) to alleviate the problem were abandoned. So the existence of the traffic issues in and around Knebworth have been known for years, but the issue has never been properly addressed and the B197 is busy, almost continuously. This is made worse whenever there is a problem on the A1(M) and all traffic comes through the village centre. Often there is complete gridlock.

All proposed developments in Knebworth and north of Knebworth along the A1(M) would have an impact on local roads. While the plan to use the hard shoulder of the A1(M) between junctions 6 and 8 may help current traffic flow a little, with the proposal to have over 14,000 new dwellings in North Hertfordshire, this is nowhere near enough. The volume of traffic and importance of the A1(M) to Knebworth should not be underestimated. The current two lane section and the route south should be widened to four lanes before any house building work commences. Also, the plan to widen the Welwyn viaduct to eliminate the bottle neck for trains there should be revisited. There is currently often standing room only on commuter trains from very early in the morning. The rail infrastructure in the area needs vast investment and parking provision for Knebworth train commuters should be increased to sustain even the status quo.

Local residents are often unable to even get out of side roads to join the main road. Any increase in the volume of commuter or social traffic due to an increase in population can only make these situations more likely and last longer. This is not in line with the sustainable journeys to services and facilities desired in the Preferred Options Consultation Paper.

The new houses are likely to be bought by workers employed elsewhere and add to the current traffic and parking problems. The proposals for Knebworth will increase pressure on the infrastructure. The side roads of Knebworth are divided by three bridges. All these are narrow with very narrow footpaths. In addition, leaving Knebworth along the B197 towards Welwyn Garden City the road layout has recently changed to widen the footpaths and narrow down the road, bus stops are opposite each other and buses stopping there halt traffic completely from time to time. Shortly after this, there is another narrow bridge. Two of the bridges in the centre of Knebworth have electrical substations next to them and are therefore unlikely to be able to be widened.

Previous developments were supposed to have a certain housing density and provide multiple accesses to and from the estates, but this did not happen. There is only one access to each large estate and the density of the housing built was higher than that agreed.

Parking is another major issue. Knebworth lacks sufficient parking even for current requirements let alone additional needs. Roads around the station area have commuter cars parked from 5a.m. during the week. Actions to relieve parking close to the station only served to push the problems to residential roads slightly further away. Knebworth station is not only used by Knebworth residents, but also residents of Codicote, Woolmer Green, Datchworth, Bragbury End and all other local rural settlements. The trains are packed every day.

It is true that limited parking is allowed in the village centre, but this is vital to keep the local businesses going. If short term parking was not allowed, customers would be driving straight through to the nearest supermarket and local traders would not be able to sustain their business. There has not been any provision within the NHDC proposal for increasing or improving local trade, retail or commercial. This adds to Knebworth becoming a dormitory village, so not even local trading can be sustained.

I believe that previous housing development proposals have been discounted due to the constraints in the infrastructure of connecting to the Rye Meads Sewage Works which services Knebworth sewage and that this is still a relevant limitation.

The allocation of 31% increase in housing for Knebworth does not seem justified as there is a large plot of land to the West of Stevenage, reserved by NHDC for housing development. It would seem more logical to use that land, with direct access to the A1(M), for housing without destroying the sustainability of Knebworth and other North Hertfordshire villages. Future planning should then be directed towards a completely new town or garden city type settlement, with infrastructure put in place before house-building begins. Currently proposals seem to be directed towards total coalescence along the B197, or with Stevenage, neither of which would be a good outcome.

All these issues, which would impact enormously on the quality of life of Knebworth residents, have been raised in previous suggested developments. There have been local meetings with planning officers attending to hear residents' concerns, but their concerns do not seem to have been addressed. In fact, quite the opposite, this latest proposal is much, much bigger than anything previously suggested, especially as none of the infrastructure problems have been solved.

KB1
This site is currently in the Green Belt, government policy saying that housing does not justify going into the Green Belt, makes this site unsuitable. The narrow bridge giving access to this site is unsuitable for heavy traffic and would damage the character of the Deards End Conservation Area. It is close to the motorway and therefore there are risks of pollution and traffic noise.

KB2
This site is currently in the Green Belt, government policy saying that housing does not justify going into the Green Belt, makes this site unsuitable. The narrow bridge giving access to this site is unsuitable for heavy traffic and would damage the character of the Stockens Green Conservation Area. It is close to the motorway and therefore there are risks of pollution and traffic noise.

KB3
Although vehicles going in and out of this site can currently be a traffic problem, it is a large employment site. It brings outside customers into Knebworth, who then use other facilities such as cafes and shops within the village. Change of use here, without commercial proposals, could reduce the sustainability of village trading. In the past, there have also been issues in the main road due to flooding.

KB4
This site is currently in the Green Belt, government policy saying that housing does not justify going into the Green Belt, makes this site unsuitable. Building on this site creates a danger of coalescence with Stevenage destroying the whole character of Knebworth village. It is currently productive agricultural land and an area of open landscape viewed from the village. There have been flooding problems on this land over many years, mainly due to poor drainage and a high water table. Hard standing will surely increase flooding problems.

I would like to put forward the following comments for consideration by the Planning Inspector.

Knebworth has already grown massively over the past 40 years with Green Belt being taken and used for housing (hundreds of new dwellings in the Rialto estate during the 1980s and the Wimpey estate during the late 1970s), plus more recent housing developments on brownfield sites within the village. All this without any increase in infrastructure or facilities to date. Knebworth is currently at breaking point and cannot sustain any further large housing schemes. All facilities within the village are stretched beyond their limit. The school is oversubscribed and the health providers over capacity. The village cannot sustain the proposed 31% increase in housing and the loss of Green Belt around the entire village is against Government policy of protecting space around villages to maintain a separate identity and will definitely not support the character of Knebworth as it is. So living conditions will not be sustained for current residents.

Traffic in Knebworth has a long history of being a disaster. The A1(M) was built as a bypass around Knebworth. However, the congested B197 continued to be very busy with local traffic and previous plans to widen the A1(M) to alleviate the problem were abandoned. So the existence of the traffic issues in and around Knebworth have been known for years, but the issue has never been properly addressed and the B197 is busy, almost continuously. This is made worse whenever there is a problem on the A1(M) and all traffic comes through the village centre. Often there is complete gridlock.

All proposed developments in Knebworth and north of Knebworth along the A1(M) would have an impact on local roads. While the plan to use the hard shoulder of the A1(M) between junctions 6 and 8 may help current traffic flow a little, with the proposal to have over 14,000 new dwellings in North Hertfordshire, this is nowhere near enough. The volume of traffic and importance of the A1(M) to Knebworth should not be underestimated. The current two lane section and the route south should be widened to four lanes before any house building work commences. Also, the plan to widen the Welwyn viaduct to eliminate the bottle neck for trains there should be revisited. There is currently often standing room only on commuter trains from very early in the morning. The rail infrastructure in the area needs vast investment and parking provision for Knebworth train commuters should be increased to sustain even the status quo.

Local residents are often unable to even get out of side roads to join the main road. Any increase in the volume of commuter or social traffic due to an increase in population can only make these situations more likely and last longer. This is not in line with the sustainable journeys to services and facilities desired in the Preferred Options Consultation Paper.

The new houses are likely to be bought by workers employed elsewhere and add to the current traffic and parking problems. The proposals for Knebworth will increase pressure on the infrastructure. The side roads of Knebworth are divided by three bridges. All these are narrow with very narrow footpaths. In addition, leaving Knebworth along the B197 towards Welwyn Garden City the road layout has recently changed to widen the footpaths and narrow down the road, bus stops are opposite each other and buses stopping there halt traffic completely from time to time. Shortly after this, there is another narrow bridge. Two of the bridges in the centre of Knebworth have electrical substations next to them and are therefore unlikely to be able to be widened.

Previous developments were supposed to have a certain housing density and provide multiple accesses to and from the estates, but this did not happen. There is only one access to each large estate and the density of the housing built was higher than that agreed.

Parking is another major issue. Knebworth lacks sufficient parking even for current requirements let alone additional needs. Roads around the station area have commuter cars parked from 5a.m. during the week. Actions to relieve parking close to the station only served to push the problems to residential roads slightly further away. Knebworth station is not only used by Knebworth residents, but also residents of Codicote, Woolmer Green, Datchworth, Bragbury End and all other local rural settlements. The trains are packed every day.

It is true that limited parking is allowed in the village centre, but this is vital to keep the local businesses going. If short term parking was not allowed, customers would be driving straight through to the nearest supermarket and local traders would not be able to sustain their business. There has not been any provision within the NHDC proposal for increasing or improving local trade, retail or commercial. This adds to Knebworth becoming a dormitory village, so not even local trading can be sustained.

I believe that previous housing development proposals have been discounted due to the constraints in the infrastructure of connecting to the Rye Meads Sewage Works which services Knebworth sewage and that this is still a relevant limitation.

The allocation of 31% increase in housing for Knebworth does not seem justified as there is a large plot of land to the West of Stevenage, reserved by NHDC for housing development. It would seem more logical to use that land, with direct access to the A1(M), for housing without destroying the sustainability of Knebworth and other North Hertfordshire villages. Future planning should then be directed towards a completely new town or garden city type settlement, with infrastructure put in place before house-building begins. Currently proposals seem to be directed towards total coalescence along the B197, or with Stevenage, neither of which would be a good outcome.

All these issues, which would impact enormously on the quality of life of Knebworth residents, have been raised in previous suggested developments. There have been local meetings with planning officers attending to hear residents' concerns, but their concerns do not seem to have been addressed. In fact, quite the opposite, this latest proposal is much, much bigger than anything previously suggested, especially as none of the infrastructure problems have been solved.

KB1
This site is currently in the Green Belt, government policy saying that housing does not justify going into the Green Belt, makes this site unsuitable. The narrow bridge giving access to this site is unsuitable for heavy traffic and would damage the character of the Deards End Conservation Area. It is close to the motorway and therefore there are risks of pollution and traffic noise.

KB2
This site is currently in the Green Belt, government policy saying that housing does not justify going into the Green Belt, makes this site unsuitable. The narrow bridge giving access to this site is unsuitable for heavy traffic and would damage the character of the Stockens Green Conservation Area. It is close to the motorway and therefore there are risks of pollution and traffic noise.

KB3
Although vehicles going in and out of this site can currently be a traffic problem, it is a large employment site. It brings outside customers into Knebworth, who then use other facilities such as cafes and shops within the village. Change of use here, without commercial proposals, could reduce the sustainability of village trading. In the past, there have also been issues in the main road due to flooding.

KB4
This site is currently in the Green Belt, government policy saying that housing does not justify going into the Green Belt, makes this site unsuitable. Building on this site creates a danger of coalescence with Stevenage destroying the whole character of Knebworth village. It is currently productive agricultural land and an area of open landscape viewed from the village. There have been flooding problems on this land over many years, mainly due to poor drainage and a high water table. Hard standing will surely increase flooding problems.