Local Plan 2011-2031 Proposed Submission Draft

I do not object to the creation of new housing. People have to live and work somewhere.
What I do object to is the planning proposals for all the villages and towns on the A1 corridor and Knebworth in particular.
The proposals make scant reference to the major difficulties for the infrastructure that will present themselves as a result of increased numbers of people, increased demands on services, and increased travel expectations.
Recently I was contacted by Affinity Water and was informed my property was to have a water meter installed. In the correspondence from Affinity Water I was informed that the provision of clean water was at a CRITICAL stage, hence the need for a water meter. The Local Plan has not addressed how this situation will be addressed with the increase in households that are being proposed.
The Local Plan does mention increased traffic will result, acknowledging that Knebworth is a 'pinch point' at certain times. I doubt whether the author of this report has ever travelled on the B197 as it makes its way towards the A1. There are many pinch points which occur all along the road and at many different times of the day. Given the extra housing that is being proposed for Knebworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote and all villages and towns north, the B197 will soon be at a standstill. Given the problems that occur around Junction 6 of the A1, the B197 is already a 'rat run'. Increased traffic will destroy the heart of Knebworth village.
As there is no provision for employment opportunities in the Local Plan, one can only assume all inhabitants of the new houses will therefore be commuters. Knebworth already suffers from commuter parking as can be witnessed by the number of times the issue has been raised at Parish Council meetings. There has been a 70% increase in the use of Knebworth Station by commuters. There is no mention in the Local Plan how the train companies will cope with a 30% increase in Knebworth's population as well as increases in the other villages' population who regularly park in Knebworth and use the station.
No mention is made in the plan about how local services will be affected and how the issues will be addressed. Mention has been made about local schools but as the suggestions, for a local primary school, for example, are not binding or funded then it is more than likely this will be ignored. No mention is made of the difficulties extra housing will create for GP surgeries or hospitals etc.
It seems to me that the Local Plan has been shoddily put together; housing developments have been sprinkled across the North Herts area and no coherent strategy has been put forward as to how this will affect travel, public services, employment and, tragically, the Green Belt.