Permission granted for 700 new homes on edge of Hemel Hempstead

At a meeting on Thursday (October 15), councillors on Dacorum Borough Council’s planning committee voted to accept a recommendation from planning officers that they approve the scheme, which also includes a primary school, care home, children’s home and neighbourhood centre.

But committee members raised concerns about the impact of the development on traffic and on the green belt, with Cllr Alan Anderson saying they were “hand-tied” by planning rules and Cllr Claire Hobson saying she could not find “any material planning reasons” for refusal.

Cllr Hobson said Government changes to planning rules had reduced councillors’ ability to act on the views of residents, after 228 wrote to the council to object to the development.

Permission was granted for the principle of development on the site and for the access plans, with a single entry and exit point for vehicles from a new three-exit roundabout off Berkhamsted Road. Further details, including a precise layout and the appearance of the new homes, will be ironed out through future applications to the council.

Planning officers had concluded that although there would be substantial harm to the green belt as a result of the development, this would be “clearly outweighed” by the “substantial” benefits, especially the building of housing and affordable homes.

A total of 280 homes in the development - 40 per cent of the total - will be “affordable”, according to the Government definition of the term, with 70 per cent of those available for affordable or social rent and 30 per cent as shared ownership. There are currently more than 1,400 households on the waiting list for affordable homes in Dacorum.

The site, currently agricultural land, was allocated for development in the council’s emerging Local Plan, which has not yet been signed off by the planning inspector.

Planning agent Jim Rawlings, speaking on behalf of applicant Hallam Land, said the development would “ensure the early delivery of homes in the borough where it is urgently needed” and that it would create a “community” rather than “just homes”.

Dacorum currently has a severe shortage of deliverable housing sites, with the current supply estimated to be around 1.2 years - well below the minimum of five years expected by the Government.

“There is a clear and pressing need to increase the supply of housing without delay, and securing the delivery of new homes cannot reasonably be deferred pending the adoption of the emerging Local Plan,” council planning officers said.

Several councillors raised concerns, however, about the impact of 700 new homes on traffic in the area.

Cllr Angela Mitchell said it was “difficult to understand” how the roads would cope, while Cllr Brian Patterson said it was “hard to believe” that, according to traffic modelling submitted by the applicant, 87 per cent of traffic from the development would go to Hemel Hempstead, with only 13 per cent going the other way, towards Berkhamsted.

The modelling predicted that the development would create 267 two-way driving trips during the morning rush hour and only 45 two-way trips during the afternoon rush-hour.

Cllr Hobson suggested the traffic modelling did not “reflect” the knowledge of people who lived in the area, while Cllr Anderson believed the expected number of new car journeys was an “absurd” underestimate.

Councillors were warned by Max Millroy, a public objector to the development, that the applicant’s “business model is land promotion and not delivery of housing”.

Five councillors voted to grant permission for the development while three voted against and two abstained.

As part of the planning permission, the developer will be required to make significant contributions towards infrastructure in the area, including £12m for a new primary school on site, £7.7m towards expanding secondary school provision, £1.7m for healthcare services, £1.3m towards Special Educational Needs and Disabilities provision, £850,000 for indoor leisure facilities and £680,000 for bus service improvements.

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