A victory for the Green Belt, a victory for local democracy

CPRE Hertfordshire is delighted that the leadership of Hertsmere Borough Council has stated their intention to shelve their draft local plan. The recent public consultation saw over 20,000 responses from local residents, and the Council Leader said “our residents have clearly rejected the draft local plan, now the Council must reject it too.”

Along with many other local groups CPRE Hertfordshire has campaigned extensively against the proposed local plan which would have seen the loss of over 1025 hectares of Green Belt land to development. Shelving the local plan is a win for nature, for the environment, and for local people who rely on the countryside and green spaces for recreation and well-being.

It’s now time for all local authorities in Hertfordshire to implement a temporary moratorium on granting permission for all major development proposals in designated protected areas including the Green Belt. This would allow time for the Government to clarify in its upcoming Planning Bill how it intends to deliver on its promise not to build on the Green Belt. Our call for such a moratorium would remove the threat of damaging unplanned and speculative development on protected open countryside for the time being.

If you have concerns about the ongoing threat of volume house-building and over-development in the countryside, please join us. We are a small local charity and depend upon membership subscriptions and donations to fund our campaigns.