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Application No 3/20/1950/FUL

Construction of 23 residential dwellings (use Class C3), and associated works including internal road network, associated highways works, landscaping, utilities and drainage
infrastructure, car and cycle parking and waste storage on land east of Aspenden Road, Buntingford, Hertfordshire.

CPRE Hertfordshire object to this application for development in Buntingford, contrary to the East Herts District Plan, the Buntingford Community Neighbourhood Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework.

As paragraph 6.1.7 of the District Plan points out “as Buntingford is the only town in the District not constrained by Green Belt, it has been subject to a number of speculative planning applications in advance of the adoption of the District Plan. The development of approximately 1,100 dwellings has been approved across a number of sites in the town since 2011 and therefore, the development strategy for Buntingford is focused on seeking to ensure that the impacts of development can be mitigated and managed within the overall infrastructure of the town.” Consequently, in District Plan Policy BUNT1(d) the Council allocated “around 56 homes on land off Aspenden Road.”

That allocation was taken up (and exceeded) by the development of land immediately to the south of the site subject to this application, following approval of Application number 3/18/2457/ FUL. This proposal is intended to infill the remaining open land between that development and the residential development in Fairfield. As such it will be contrary to Policy BUNT1 and constitute a windfall site. The District Plan requires that windfall sites will be determined on an individual basis, taking into account the policies of the Plan.