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Dacorum Local Plan, Revised Strategy for Growth – our initial analysis

24th November 2023

Dacorum Borough Council is conducting a public consultation on its new Draft Local Plan for the period 2024 to 2040, entitled ‘Revised Strategy for Growth’. We encourage all local people to submit a consultation response before the deadline of 11 December 2023.

The current consultation follows on from Dacorum’s “Emerging Strategy for Growth” launched in November 2020. This resulted in huge numbers of local residents expressing their opposition to the massive amount of protected Green Belt land that would have been lost to development.

In response to this public outcry, the Council is now consulting on changes to their proposed site allocations for housing. This includes a reduction in the number of Green Belt sites and the total Green Belt land area being proposed for housing.

We continue to have significant concerns

While we generally welcome the overall reduction in housing growth throughout the Borough, we continue to have significant concerns. Our initial commentary and analysis is now available to download, and we will also publish our full consultation response in early December.

Download

At a headline level, our concerns include:

  • Very large amounts of protected Green Belt land are still proposed for development, circa 466 hectares (1,150 acres), or the equivalent of approximately 670 football pitches, including the sites shown below in our image gallery
  • Continued high levels of growth
  • Continued use of the “Standard Method” and out-of-date population and household projections
  • Insufficient consideration of the opportunity for brownfield redevelopment
  • Continued impacts on market towns and villages
  • The proposed Hemel Garden Communities programme
  • Impact on the Green Belt and on the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)
  • Affordable housing
  • Continuing lack of concern for additional environmental issues
  • The AONB, the Chilterns Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and Suitable Alternative Natural Green Spaces (SANG)
  • Water supply constraints and chalk streams
  • Waste water issues
  • Call for sites for SANG and the need for Local Plan Policy on SANG.

We are dismayed that in this present consultation, no suggestion is made that the short-comings of the earlier “Emerging Strategy for Growth” with regard to all topics other than housing will be re-considered. As it is unclear whether any further consultations will be conducted under Local Plan Regulation 18 which permits responses on the content of the Local Plan, it’s imperative that local people respond now, to this present consultation.

How does Dacorum’s approach compare with that of Three Rivers?

Dacorum’s approach does not compare well with that of neighbouring Three Rivers District. Three Rivers District Council is also conducting a public consultation on their new Draft Local Plan at the present time. And we are generally supportive of Three Rivers Council’s approach, including

  • the Council’s proposed stance of not complying with the Government’s Standard Method for calculating the District’s housing need figure owing to Green Belt and the AONB; and
  • the Council’s approach in applying NPPF paragraph 11 and footnote 7 in assessing housing need against Green Belt policy constraints.

We believe that all local planning authorities with a high proportion of designated protected land, including the boroughs of Dacorum, Three Rivers, Hertsmere and St Albans, should apply this policy test and re-assess their housing need and housing target figures.

In Dacorum Borough, 60% of the land area is Green Belt, and 33% is within the Chilterns AONB. So we are particularly dismayed that Dacorum Borough Council has not followed Three Rivers’ approach in taking these genuine constraints more fully into account.

What you can do

You can read more about our views by downloading our initial commentary and site impact analysis.

We hope that all local people and communities throughout the Borough will respond to the consultation and have your say about the proposals. It’s imperative that the Council understands local residents’ views, so your comments are important.

Comments on the Dacorum Local Plan ‘Revised Strategy for Growth’ must be submitted by 11:59 PM on Monday 11th December 2023:

We are concerned to note that the Council are not accepting comments by email. However, it is possible to upload documents via the on-line survey above. If you need any support with this, we suggest you contact the Council at: strategic.planning@dacorum.gov.uk

And finally….

We are CPRE Hertfordshire, the countryside charity. We work on behalf of everyone across Hertfordshire to protect and promote the beautiful countryside, for now and for the future. Our charity relies entirely on memberships and fundraising. Please help the countryside and become a CPRE member today – it’s easy and quick to join online. Or make a recurring or one-off donation – any amount is most welcomed.

footpath leading up a hill through a field to a wood
Part of the HH01/02 Green Belt site proposed for 5,500 dwellings at 'Hemel Garden Communities' - the footpath from Piccotts End to Wood Farm

Some of the 466 hectares (1150 acres) of Green Belt land still under threat of development - click on any image to enlarge, and then scroll to see the other images

  • lush green agricultural crop in the sunshine

    Part of the HH01/02 Green Belt site proposed for 5,500 dwellings at 'Hemel Garden Communities' - Dodds Lane near Wood Farm

  • fallow cropland with a hedgerow and trees

    Part of the HH01/02 Green Belt site proposed for 5,500 dwellings at 'Hemel Garden Communities' - Dodds Lane near Lovetts End Farm

  • undulating horse pastures with friendly horses looking at the camera

    Part of the HH01/02 Green Belt site proposed for 5,500 dwellings at 'Hemel Garden Communities' - near Eastbrook Hay Farm

  • at dusk, rich green cropland with trees and views of distant hills

    Part of the BK01 Green Belt site proposed for 850 dwellings, South Berkhamsted, looking into the AONB

  • a sunny green pasture with hedgerow, trees and hills in the background

    Part of the TR01 Green Belt site proposed for 250 dwellings, Dunsley Farm, Tring

  • a green field with mature woodland nearby

    Part of the HH01/02 Green Belt site proposed for 5,500 dwellings at 'Hemel Garden Communities' - approaching Varney's Wood

  • green fields with wooded hills beyond

    Part of the TR01 Green Belt site proposed for 250 dwellings, Dunsley Farm, Tring, looking into the AONB

  • large green field with scattered trees under a sunny blue sky

    Part of the BK01 Green Belt site proposed for 850 dwellings, South Berkhamsted

  • mature hedgerow stretching into the distance as far as the eye can see

    Part of the HH01/02 Green Belt site proposed for 5,500 dwellings at 'Hemel Garden Communities' - north of Lovetts End Farm

More like this

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footpath leading up a hill through a field to a wood

Dacorum Local Plan, Revised Strategy for Growth – our final submittal
Dacorum
lovely tranquil green landscape with trees, bluebells and a public footpath

Our campaign on the proposed Dacorum local plan (Jan – Feb 2021)
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