Local Plan 2011-2031 Proposed Submission Draft

I am writing to express grave concerns over the proposed development WY1.
The proposed addition of 300+ houses will have a detrimental effect on the village, virtually doubling its size. The effect this will have will be devastating, doubling traffic, greater noise, high pollution on already congested roads (particularly in the rush hour) and building on land which would currently hold water, the result of which would increase the flooding in an area that already has regular flooding.
The proposal does not reassure me that any points have been thoroughly considered. Hertfordshire County Council's own report in February 2014 stated that the flood risk for Little Wymondley has increased and adding further houses will increase it. This will probably increase insurance premiums to unaffordable levels for a lot of residents.
By adding 300+ houses you are potentially adding 600+ cars using the already limited road structure within the village. At present between the hours of 07:30 to 09:30 and 16:30 to 18:30 it is extremely difficult, and at times impossible to drive out of the village at either end onto the major roads, i.e. The A1(M) roundabout at the Stevenage end and The Stevenage Road on the Hitchin end due to extreme traffic congestion. The A1(M) roundabout has no traffic lights for the Little Wymondley Junction and due to the constant jumping of Red lights at other points on the roundabout there is never a gap to pull into if you are turning right or going straight on and at the Hitchin there is a constant stream of traffic making it extremely difficult to turn right, both of these create risks, and have sometimes led to accidents. The additional pressure on local roads, especially through all the local villages, will be unmanageable. Recently there was an incident on the Hitchin by-pass and traffic was coming through the village at 6.30 in the morning it was virtually impossible to cross the Wymondley road to walk the dogs, if the traffic was increased this would be every morning. A second incident on the A1(M) when a van caught fire created long tailbacks through Little Wymondley. There is further planned industrial development and housing development by SBC and NHDC (Graveley proposals) around the A1(M) roundabout (junction 8), which will further increase traffic and flooding problems.
I have no faith that road system and flood management will be given the right support to make sure that these issues are addressed. I also feel that green belt was set up for a reason, to make sure that our green spaces were protected, to ensure that future generations could benefit from green spaces and good quality air.
The decision to suddenly decide that this is not important is quite staggering and we need to make sure that all other options have been looked at. The sheer number of houses proposed leads itself to seriously looking at the possibility of a new garden city, rather than create further problems in local communities. I understand you are already aware of a suitable area of brown belt land for this purpose which would more than cover the future needs. Why have we not seen any plans for this alternative?
92% of the local residents are against this proposal and have raised genuine reasons of extreme concern, yet you still appear to be seriously considering going ahead with this proposal. I can only assume that you are not listening to your residents.
I sincerely hope that this proposal is not taken forward, Hertfordshire need to protect local communities, listen to local people, and keep Hertfordshire healthy for future generations.