Why saving Rectory Farm’s green field Green Belt is so important for Kings Langley
A village is defined by its character, setting, shape and size. It is our green fields that influence those characteristics.
A number of villagers will have been here in the early 2000s, when the last Local Plan was finalised. At that time, Rectory Farm was put forward for development for new housing. The Planning Inspector, at the Local Plan Examination in Public upheld the site’s Green Belt status and removed it, because it serves the purposes of the Green Belt - with its openness and how it prevents Kings Langley coalescing into Nash Mills.
Nothing has changed!
In fact, the pressures on our village are now worse, with small scale infill developments and brownfield re-development (which we accept), gradually increasing the size of our village. More homes, means more cars, more school places, more residents requiring local health services and needing more green spaces to spend their leisure time. Kings Langley has no additional capacity to cope with such increases. Our schools are already over-subscribed and our two key roads (the A4251 and Station Road) are become more congested as our village grows.
If the developers appeal is upheld, not just 135 extra homes on Rectory Farm will be built but the floodgates will be opened for other developers, (who the KL&DRA know are watching out for the result of this appeal), to jump in with further developments of the green fields surrounding our village.
The Green Belt was put in place for good reasons - to prevent urban sprawl, prevent coalescence between settlements and to preserve the character and setting of settlements. Building on our green fields defies these very principles.
This is why we must fight to save our green field Green Belt.