Plans approved for 550 new homes in Harpenden

Plans to build 550 homes in Hertfordshire have been approved despite concerns about the impact on the green belt and traffic.

The planning committee at St Albans City & District Council voted by five votes to four to grant outline planning permission for the development in Harpenden, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The site, covering green belt fields alongside Cooters End Lane and Ambrose Lane, will include 420 homes - about half of which will be affordable - and 130 retirement homes.

The application was for outline permission only with full details of the development to be confirmed in further applications.

More than 1,800 public objections to the plans were received over three consultations.

Proposals for the land were initially put forward by Legal & General in 2023 but have been revised to include social rented housing and increase the percentage of affordable homes.

Of the affordable housing, 46% will be for affordable home ownership, 39% for affordable rent and 15% for social rent.

The site will also include a nursery for up to 110 children, two sports pitches, communal park, allotments and play areas.

The development will not include any new schools after Hertfordshire County Council said they were not needed, but the developer will be required to pay £9.5m towards education in the area.

Planning officers recommended that councillors grant permission and judge whether the site fits the government's new definition of "grey belt" land, which is easier to gain permission to build on than green belt.

In their view, the site did not "strongly contribute" to the green belt's purposes, including restricting sprawl and preventing towns from merging.

The planning committee's chair, Edgar Hill, said the council had been left "extremely vulnerable" due to the lack of an up-to-date Local Plan and its low housing land supply.

A new Local Plan for St Albans district has been submitted to the government for examination but has not yet been formally approved.

It means that it is more difficult for the authority to block proposed developments.

In 2023-24, only 330 homes were built in St Albans district, significantly lower than the new government target of 1,660 per year.