Local Plan 2011-2031 Proposed Submission Draft

I wish to object to the proposed Local Plan on the following grounds:

Transport infrastructure:
The area between Hitchin and Luton mainly consists of small single lane lanes which are already heavily used There is no spare capacity to support any additional housing They are already subject to gridlock at peak times. Increasingly they are also used by heavy vehicles who are destroying the roads themselves and also jamming the lanes for other users The routes into and out of the area are through a series of choke points. The route for example between Hitchin and Stevenage and through Luton are regularly gridlocked for considerable periods.

Other infrastructure:
Water :
The Secretary of state has already declared this to be an area in water shortage and has required every property to fit water meters because of this . Government has already therefore demonstrated that it would be foolish to overload an already poor water supply with additional people and housing.

Schools and Hospitals:
School and hospital facilities are already overloaded and subject to waiting lists Increasing the population of the area by vast numbers would completely overload local infrastructure. No funds are available to expand these facilities.

Luton's needs :
Luton has already identified not only series of brownfield sites but also areas near Houghton Regis for expansion. These areas are not of scientific interest or scenic beauty and also, being flatter, are more suitable for housing and its infrastructure . It makes a great deal more sense to use these sites rather than allocating sites in a different county and in a scenic area of scientific interest.
Given that permission has already been granted for these sites, Luton's needs are not exceptional and do not justify removing Green Belt Status from the area.

Food Security ;
The land in the area is high grade agriculture land which is important to the food security of the British state . As an island Britain cannot create additional land and consequently good quality land should not be used . IN this case as the previous paragraph demonstrates there is no need since sufficient land is already available from brownfield sites and other parts of Bedfordshire.

North Herts District Council appears to support this solution at least in part because it will be politically expedient to allocate a large proportion of its targets with central government and has therefore acted improperly in that it has allocated this particular area an unreasonably heavy burden in terms of the numbers of potential developments.