Dismay and outrage at speculative ‘plotlands’ in Great Gaddesden

CPRE Hertfordshire shares the dismay and outrage of the local community in Great Gaddesden, Dacorum Borough. Residents have been sent a flyer advertising the sale by auction of 23 ‘plotlands’ within the Chilterns National Landscape (formerly called the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty).

What are plotlands?

Here at CPRE Hertfordshire we use the term plotlands to refer to the damaging practice of parcelling an area of land into small plots and attempting to sell these plots to naïve or unsuspecting buyers. The marketing language or graphics in the sales material may imply that the land could be developed for residential use in future. For example, it may suggest there is good access, or that the plots are conveniently located for commuters.

But in reality, plotlands sites are usually located in a designated protected area such as the Green Belt, or as in this case, the Chilterns National Landscape, and thus gaining planning permission for development is unlikely. The seller is speculating that unwary buyers will be unfamiliar with UK planning policy or fail to undertake sufficient due diligence on the land before purchasing a plot.

Why are plotlands damaging?

Besides the obvious financial harm to unsuspecting buyers, plotlands create real damage to the land. Often the hedges will be destroyed and gates erected to create access, and fences installed to sub-divide the land into plots. This infrastructure often destroys the openness of the land and harms the character of the landscape. Long views are broken up by fencing, and the small size of the plots precludes viable agricultural use. The land may then become neglected and vulnerable to trespass and fly-tipping.

What can be done about plotlands?

When we become aware of plotlands, we quickly contact the relevant local authority – usually at District or Borough level – requesting that they urgently put an Article 4 Direction in place. An Article 4 Direction removes permitted development rights from the site. This means that it is then unlawful for gates, fences or any other infrastructure to be installed, unless granted permission through the formal planning application process. The Article 4 Direction also makes enforcement action possible, including criminal prosecution, if any development or infrastructure installation does occur without planning permission.

What’s the situation at Great Gaddesden?

We have submitted a letter to the planning department at Dacorum Borough Council urging them to issue an immediate Article 4 Direction covering the entire site area of these 23 plotlands. Our letter is available for download here.

Download our submittal

Also available for download is the sales brochure. This particular brochure was sent to one of our CPRE Hertfordshire members who promptly transmitted it to us so we could take action.

Download the sales brochure

What can you do about plotlands?

If you see sales notices on farmland, particularly if the sales agency is unfamiliar or if the sale is by auction, please get in touch with us.

We are aware of agents located in other parts of England and in Ireland who have tried to market Hertfordshire plotlands. You should also notify us if you see fields which have been divided up into small plots using stakes and wire or similar materials, as this is a leading indicator that the plots may soon be advertised for sale.