North East Herts MP Oliver Heald was the first person to speak at the beginning of the three day Birch Green Planning Inquiry being held at Hertford this week. His Statement can be found below.
This is an appeal against an enforcement notice and retrospective planning application. Commenting, Oliver Heald said, “I wanted to speak at this Inquiry because it is so important to protect our Green Belt. There is a real risk that local communities would coalesce if we did not have strong protection of the Green Belt.”
Birch Green Planning Appeal Statement by Oliver Heald MP
Oliver Heald of the House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA, makes the following Statement.
- I am the Member of Parliament for North East Hertfordshire Constituency, which includes Tewin and the Five Greens, one of which is Birch Green. I have been a Member of Parliament since 1992: first for the North Hertfordshire Constituency and since 1997, for the North East Hertfordshire Constituency, which includes the site of the Appeal.
- North East Hertfordshire Constituency covers 186 sq miles, including the towns of Letchworth Garden City, Baldock, Royston and Buntingford. It also contains many villages, going down the A10/A1 corridor as far as Bayford and Little Berkhamsted. The neighbouring towns of Hertford, Ware and Welwyn Garden City are not in my Constituency.
- The nature of this part of Hertfordshire is that there are small towns and villages. The towns are often close together, as are the villages. There is great demand for development and the Green Belt is essential to avoid urban sprawl. The Five Greens are Staines Green, Birch Green, Letty Green, Cole Green and East End Green. They are close to Hertingfordbury, which in turn is close to Hertford. Without the Green Belt, the development pressures would mean that these villages became a suburb of Hertford. To the south of the Five Greens are another cluster of villages known as the three Bs, Brickendon, Bayford and Little Berkhamsted and again, without the Green Belt, these would be at risk of coalescence. Between the Five Greens and Welwyn Garden City, is the large village of Tewin, which has suffered substantial development pressures, with speculators buying up its fields and marking them out into plotlands, even though this land is in the Green Belt. It is easy to see that without the Green Belt, the A414 corridor between Hertford and Welwyn Garden City would become urban.
- This area of East Hertfordshire is known as the “lungs of the County”, because Hertfordshire is one of the most densely populated Counties and the green space and countryside is particularly precious. It is valued not just by the communities who live there, but also by residents of the towns, who enjoy their leisure in the countryside of Hertfordshire. So, for example, walkers enjoy the use of the tracery of footpaths in the County and this is true of Birch Green as well as other parts of my Constituency.
- I first became aware of the incursion into this site in Birch Green in late August 2011, when numerous constituents contacted me to complain that the Green Belt land was being developed into a caravan/mobile home site. I was told that hardcore was being laid on the site and tarmac. I know the site in question, as I have regular surgeries in the area, and have visited the village on many occasions over a range of local issues. The site is not only important in dividing Birch Green from the other four small hamlets nearby, it is also important as a setting for this side of the village, which contains a number of Grade II Listed properties which abut the field in question. The incursion led to Court proceedings and the occupation of the land continued for over two months. I did drive by and also stopped to look at the development and it was very clear that it did not fit in with the surrounding properties and was inappropriate in the Green Belt.
- I know that East Herts Council has a policy in favour of permitting travellers’ sites in areas which are not in the Green Belt, but the Green Belt has to be strongly defended in this part of the world. I am told by a local resident that previous applications to build on this particular site have always been refused, with the village strongly opposed. The same is true of the current appeal.
- I would like to support the objections and my main reasons are:-
· that such development is inappropriate in the Green Belt, leading to a loss of open country, vital to avoid coalescence
· damage to the landscape and look of this part of the Green Belt and
· damage to the setting of important Grade II Listed Buildings.
- Another point to bear in mind is that this area of land is close to and between the Rivers Mimram and Lea. The land in the vicinity of the proposed development often has surface water lying on it and the water table is high. The placing of tarmac and hardcore in the way that was previously done must raise issues about the risk of flash flooding.
- Finally, the site in question is on a bend on the Old Coach Road (the former route of the A414). It is a site which has parking problems already associated with the use of the school. I believe this will create traffic problems, if a six caravan/six car site is developed. I understand that Hertfordshire Highways are suggesting that a wider entrance and sight lines would be necessary, but this would of course mean that about 40% of the hedge would have to go. This would also be a pity.
I am therefore opposed to this Appeal.
Oliver Heald MP
29 May 2012