Gresley Way, Stevenage – the right homes in the right places?

An application has been submitted to East Hertfordshire District Council for the construction of 618 homes on this Green Belt site. The battle to stop development of the site was lost when the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government refused to intervene and force changes on the plan put forward by the Council that identified the site.

So, not the right place in our view but there’s nothing more that we can do about that. But what about the right homes.

When a major development such as this is proposed, the key step is known as “Place Making”. This is all about the design process and involves the layout of the site, its buildings, uses and character areas.

Hertfordshire County Council facilitates and provides the Herts Design Review Service (HDRS). This service uses skilled and experienced planning people used to taking a holistic approach to design. In a letter about this Gresley Way site written in 2016 the Service said “Critically, if the development is to be successful it must be seen as an extension to Stevenage, not an inward looking suburb. Radical measures need to be taken to link the development both physically and psychologically to the adjoining neighbourhoods to the west of Gresley Way, by reducing the severance of the tree belt and bund, by calming traffic speeds on Gresley Way, and by maximising linkages for cyclists and pedestrians into existing networks”.

It seems that what the Herts Design Review Service wrote has been ignored. The planning application seeks permission initially to the construction of the main spine road and associated works. This is the opposite of how to go about place making.

Public policy states that local authorities should take account of design review panels such as HRDS. But East Herts appears not to have done this.

So, no, probably not the right homes. Possibly another dormitory estate where new residents will need a car to get anywhere. Hardly the way to combat climate change or to create a vibrant new community.