Further Proposed Modifications to the North Hertfordshire Local Plan 2011- 2031

SP9 a. In a planning environment where a Local Plan can be 10 years delayed, a 'Strategic Masterplan' that is not permitted to look more than 10 years into the future is a misnomer. It cannot be 'Strategic'. A 'Strategic Masterplan' for community placemaking needs to look towards a new century, not simply a new decade. How can appropriate infrastructure be planned on this basis? The results, with this restriction, can only be short-sighted, and risk expensive and irreversible short-term solutions that are not fit for long-term purpose.

SP9 b. ii. This reinforcement of certain elements of Hertfordshire's LTP4 creates a misbalance with that policy's requirement that "The needs of the motor vehicle are not ignored" (p.45) and "The policy is not anti-car and car use is recognised as being an essential part of the county's future transport system." (p.44) Rural communities will be disadvantaged and cease to be able to operate if vehicle use is not given due consideration where it is necessary. For instance, the village of Knebworth already has a backlog of road infrastructure dating back 100 years to its Garden Village origins. Local roads to serve the Garden Village were planned, but not delivered when the community grew 20-fold. Strategic Masterplans should not be bound by a presumption against new local roads. Flexibility is required in addressing necessary vehicle use, and should be acknowledged in policy, before the otherwise positive principles of these modifications are introduced.