Land Adjacent to 2 Church Cottages, Church End, Albury, Herts SG11 2JQ

Application No 3/20/2034/FUL

Construction of 1 detached dwelling with 2 off-street car parking spaces on land adjacent To 2 Church Cottages, Church End, Albury, Hertfordshire SG11 2JQ.

CPRE Hertfordshire object to this proposal for residential development in the Rural Area Beyond the Green Belt which will adversely impact the setting of three adjoining listed buildings contrary to the National Planning Policy Framework and the East Herts District Plan.

Unfortunately, aspects of the documentation accompanying the application are inadequate and do not address the issues raised. Annex 1 of the Design and Access Statement intended to cover the Planning Policy aspects of the application merely quotes verbatim paragraphs and policies from the East Herts District Plan without providing any demonstration of how this development complies with those policies or how the planning balance would be affected by them. There is no mention whatsoever of the requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework.

Similarly, the Heritage Statement makes no reference to the NPPF, focuses solely on the adjoining Grade II listed cottages and completely ignores the Grade II* St Mary’s Church. The bulk of the Heritage Statement is a regurgitation of the Design and Access Statement attempting to demonstrate that the design of the new building takes cues from the cottages. There is no recognition that impact on the setting of listed buildings is also a material point. As the Court judgement in Forge Field Society v Sevenoaks District Council [EWHC 1895 (Admin)] held: “When an authority finds that a proposed development would harm the setting of a listed building it must give that harm considerable importance and weight.”