Rectory Farm Public Inquiry - Decision
By Gary Ansell, Chair, KL&DRA
Sadly, the Planning Inspector allowed the appeal by Angle / Cala, to build 135 homes on Rectory Farm's green field, Green Belt.
This is a huge blow to Kings Langley and may set a dangerous precedent for further developments. The inspector's full report can be read here. His decision was based on two main issues:
1. Whether the necessary SANG mitigation measures had been secured to protect the Chilterns Beechwood SAC - to find out more about SANG, please read our blog post here.
2. Had the developer demonstrated the Very Special Circumstances (VSC) necessary to justify development in the Green Belt.
On the first issue, the inspector disagreed with Dacorum Borough Council's (DBC’s) arguments that Angle/Cala's proposed SANG provision was insufficient and called out errors in DBC's own mitigation strategy. He concluded that if a SANG solution is provided then VSC would be demonstrated which, along with other benefits, would outweigh the harm to the Green Belt.
The problem with the SANG solution put forward by Angle / Cala is that it does not benefit Kings Langley! It is most likely that the alternative green space will be provided by the Box Moor Trust (BMT) at Westbrook Hay, a car journey or bike ride away from our village. It is also interesting to note that BMT are willing to provide such a green space, at the expense of our green space in Kings Langley.
It is water under the bridge now, but if Angle Property had done what we asked when they originally sold off the brownfield area of the site to Miller Homes, and provided the rest of the site as a green space for the village, we would have had our own green space!
Our case was based on issue 2 - that development of the site would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt and that VSC do not exist to outweigh the harm to the Green Belt. Although all parties and the inspector agreed that the development was inappropriate in the Green Belt, he concluded that the benefits outweighed the harm to the Green Belt. Therefore VSC existed to justify the development.
Significant weight was given to DBC’s lack of 4 years' housing land supply and the shortage of affordable housing in the borough. The provision of public open space and community facilities to be run by Sunnyside Trust, a 15% biodiversity net gain, and economic benefits were also given significant weight.
These benefits look good on paper, but don’t reflect the impact on Kings Langley and the precedent of more sites coming forward because DBC’s Local Plan is so far out of date that developers will take the opportunity to get in quick and use the same arguments as Angle / Cala have, to get their developments approved.
There is no guarantee that the affordable element of the site will come to fruition as developers have a habit of using the excuse that they are not making enough profit, and so reduce or remove their commitment to providing affordable homes.
The developers have promised that 54 out of the 135 dwellings will be affordable, which is broken down as follows: 21 affordable rented units; 7 affordable social rented units; 15 first home units; and 11 shared ownership units. The term ‘affordable’ actually means housing owned of managed by a housing provider which, having regard to its rent or other considerations is suitable for people in housing need. To view the tenure breakdown showing the positions of the affordable units, please click here.
DBC has been of no help to Kings Langley at all in this public inquiry and in fact left the KL&DRA high and dry as the only party prepared to fight for the Green Belt. Despite saying they are trying to protect the Green Belt and, in particular, after removing Rectory Farm from their Local Plan, it seems hypocritical that they did not defend Rectory Farm’s Green Belt status. Incredulously, the Council’s position was that if the developer had 100% secured a SANG, then they would have no objection to the development of the site and would give planning permission. So does this mean that in future, if a developer secures a SANG somewhere, and can provide a few additional benefits, then more Green Belt will be lost?
The fact that the decisions on a development of this size and sensitivity was left at planning officer level and not discussed in full at a planning committee meeting, giving members of the public, and the KL&DRA, an opportunity to voice objections and highlight the level of concern in the village is inexcusable.
Unsurprisingly, the KL&DRA do not agree with the inspector’s decision, but a legal challenge would be prohibitively expensive, with no guarantee of success. DBC has done Kings Langley no favours at all with delays to the Local Plan, woeful housing delivery figures, and an appalling strategy at the inquiry that all but gifted the Rectory Farm decision to the developers.
We did all we could appearing as a party to the inquiry and would like to thank everyone for their support and the financial contributions that have made our involvement possible. Despite this setback, we will continue to fight for our preservation of the character and setting of our village in the future.