Dacorum Borough Council sell out Kings Langley’s Green Belt!
The KL&DRA has been expending a great deal of time, effort and money, over the last few weeks in preparing our case and proof of evidence which we will put forward and argue at the upcoming Rectory Farm public inquiry.
A quick recap: The public inquiry will be led by an independent planning Inspector from the Planning Inspectorate, who will listen to the cases and evidence put forward by the appellant (Angle Property & Cala Homes), the Local Planning Authority (LPA - Dacorum Borough Council) and the Joint Objectors Group (JOG – KL&DRA with CPRE Hertfordshire), also called a Rule 6 party. The public inquiry came about because the LPA refused the Appellant’s planning application for 135 homes, including blocks of flats), so the appellants appealed to the Planning Inspectorate requesting that the appeal be heard at a public inquiry. A public inquiries is a formal procedure, similar to a court of law, where a Planning Inspector considers the planning matters and legal issues and ultimately decides whether to uphold or refuse the appeal. Barristers and expert witnesses represent the various parties.
The KL&DRA’s case is based on interpretation of the protections afforded to the Green Belt in the National Planning Policy Framework and associated Planning Policy Guidance laid down by the Government, along with associated matters our experts feel are relevant to Rectory Farm.
At the start of the process, we expected to be supporting the LPA in their first reason for refusal of planning application – inappropriate development in the green belt. Imagine then, our horror, when, at the eleventh hour, DBC requested a 3-month adjournment so that they could finalise Section 106 and SANG agreements with the appellant, which, in their words would “if successful, allow the Council to withdraw both reasons for refusal 1 and 2 (and we assume reasons for refusal 3 and 4 which relate to the lack of a completed s. 106 agreement for the Rectory Farm scheme). The Council would then be in the position of having no objection to the grant of planning permission and would not play any role in the appeal.”
So having, refused planning permission, which has led to a Public Inquiry, the Council now say they will not object to the grant of planning permission! The KL&DRA find it incredulous that DBC has led us all into this situation, which makes it very much harder for the JOG to get the appeal refused on Green Belt grounds.
Accordingly, we have written to the Council expressing our displeasure and we are critical of the fact that Councillors did not even debate the appeal approach at a Planning Committee, but left it as an “officer led decision”. This is not the way a Local Authority should be protecting the Green Belt. Why did they take the site out of the Local Plan if they’re not prepared to uphold the purposes of the Green Belt?
Despite this major setback, the adjournment was rejected by the Inspector and so we fight on and will be appearing as planned at the public inquiry which starts at 9:30am on Tuesday 9 April, at The Forum, Hemel Hempstead.
We will post more details on how the public can participate as soon as we have confirmation of the arrangements from the Council.
To read our blog on What is a SANG please click here.