Land SE of Welwyn Garden City, Welwyn Hatfield, ‘Birchall Garden Suburb’

Application no. 6/2022/1395/OUTLINE

Land southeast of Welwyn Garden City to the north of A414, and straddling Birchall / Cole Green Lane. Proposed development comprising: 2,650 new homes, three schools, sports facilities, two mixed use local centres, etc…

This is a significant proposed development spreading across two Local Planning Authorities, Welwyn Hatfield and East Hertfordshire, on land presently or formerly designated as Green Belt. The proposed development should be considered premature in relation to the Welwyn Hatfield part of the site and a departure from the current Local Plan.

The concept of a ‘garden suburb’ should not be taken lightly, and ‘garden suburb’ principles require much higher standards than are usually demonstrated in current speculative residential development.

Our comments are available to download at right, and we have submitted similar comments to the linked planning application in East Hertfordshire.