Land off Ford Lane, Aston, Stevenage, SG2 7HG

Applications Nos.3/20/1456/FUL, 3/20/1457/FUL, 3/20/1459/FUL and 3/20/1460/FUL

Erection of Polytunnels, agricultural storage building with incorporated office and respite area, creation of new access and formation of hard standing and associated parking, siting of 2 no. water storage tanks on land off Ford Lane, Aston, Stevenage, SG2 7HG.

Though submitted as separate applications, these constitute one proposal and, with minor modifications, are a resubmission of applications 3/20/0688/FUL and 3/20/0694/FUL
withdrawn by the applicant earlier in the year.

The most significant change is that the applicant, as we requested in our objection to the previous applications, now specifies a sewage treatment plant to be used for the treatment of effluent from the proposed office and storage building. This will apparently discharge into a drainage field. Neither the precise location of the plant or the drainage field is specified. Consequently we continue to have concerns regarding possible contamination of the River Beane. The Beane is served by the aquifer into which any drainage field would percolate. As we pointed out previously any discharge of, albeit treated, effluent is likely to add unacceptable levels of nutrients leading to higher risk of eutrophication.

In the current version of the Planning Statement, the applicant now acknowledges the River Beane as a chalk stream, but does not seem to understand the relevance of that designation. The English chalk streams are of international importance and their ecology unique. The river is subject to a catchment management plan, intended to improve the flow and water quality, among other objectives. Any development which may impinge on the river must not be detrimental to those objectives. The application makes no recognition of this fact. The East Herts District Plan advises (23.5.1) that SUDS play an important role in the reduced degradation of chalk streams. A thorough and rigorous SUDS approach, in advance of planning permission, would be the minimum to be expected in this questionable venture.