TRDC Local Plan Sub-Committee are finalising decisions on which sites to take forward in their Local Plan - Two are in Kings Langley’s Green belt

On 10th July, Three Rivers District Council’s Local Plan Sub-Committee (TRDC LPSC) gave a presentation detailing where they are at regarding the allocation of potential sites for housing in their Local Plan. They will make their final decisions at two meetings, both of which the public can attend online. They intend to consider two sites in Kings Langley, one at each of the meetings, which will be held on the 3rd August and 24th August at 7pm. Please attend on line if you can to hear what they have to say.

The good news is that the Council has decided not to pursue the Government’s recommended housing number target (12,642 over the fifteen year plan period), because that would mean excessive development in the Green Belt, and so they have set a more realistic figure of 5,208 dwellings.

This number is made up of a mix of brownfield sites; sites which have planning permission; and in addition an allowance for windfall sites becoming available.  It also includes Green Belt sites which the Council has categorised as low to moderate harm (to the Green Belt, if they were to be developed). One of these sites is in Kings Langley: Site ref. ACFS8b - FLower House, 2-3 Station Road, Kings Langley (dwelling capacity: 19). The site is in the Green belt and includes a small area of brownfield, which the KL&DRA do not object to being developed. However, a large part of the site was unlawfully developed, without planning permission being granted, into a car park. The development was subject to an appeal by the developer which was refused by the Planning Inspector, largely on Green Belt grounds, and the land should have been restored to its former green field state and the elevation of the land also reinstated. Unfortunately, TRDC have failed to enforce the restoration of the site. 

The KL&DRA has written to the Chair of the Sub-Committee, Cllr. Stephen Giles-Medhurst,  requesting that the Council only allow the truly brownfield area of the site to be used for housing, and the rest to be kept as green field Green Belt.

NB: It is KL&DRA’s opinion that the truly brownfield part of the site cannot support the dwelling capacity of 19, as allocated by TRDC to the site.

The TRDC LPSC will be discussing this site, along with others, at their meeting on 3rd August at 7:00pm. It would help our cause if as many residents as possible could log into the livestream of the meeting and listen to see if the Committee take our request into consideration.

The Agenda for the meeting, along with a link to the livestream can be found by clicking here.

Please note: There will be a further meeting, on Thursday 24th August at 7:00pm, to discuss the inclusion of the strategic Numbers Farm site (Dwelling capacity: 893 + primary school). We will add more information to this blog about the Numbers Farm site nearer the time.