Dacorum villagers outrage after pavement resurfacing work removes over 300 metres of grass verge

A Hertfordshire County Council development in a village conservation area has caused anger amongst residents.

Contractors for Hertfordshire County Council Highways Department arrived in Great Gaddesden in July and tarmacked over 300 metres of grass verge bordering water meadows and ancient watercress beds, on Piper's Hill.

Villagers claim they were not warned about the development, and that there was no consultation through the Parish Council.

Locals are appealing for the action to be reversed, citing clauses in the National Planning Policy Framework, which states that any rural development should ‘give weight to conserving and enhancing the landscape and scenic beauty’.

Hertfordshire County Council will be restoring the grass verge areas that were tarmacked over by mistake.

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council said: “We have recently carried out some pavement resurfacing work along Piper’s Hill to widen the pavement for pedestrians and harden some badly deteriorated verge areas.

"Unfortunately due to a misunderstanding with our contractors, a longer stretch of the pavement was widened in this way than we had originally intended.

"We will be restoring the grass verge areas that were tarmacked over by mistake and we’d like to apologise for any concern that this has caused locally.”