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Dear Sir/Madam Please find below my objections to planning application 22/1526/FULEI. Please note that this objection should be taken as my separate and individual submission in accordance with your agreed policy. My objections to date include: As accepted by the applicant this is an ‘inappropriate’ development in the Green Belt and is by definition harmful. Hertsmere's Draft (Regulation 18) Local Plan has been set aside and the applicant cannot claim, as they attempt to do, any exceptional or special circumstance to address these harms by inappropriate use of an abandoned Local Plan Hertsmere's’ existing Local Plan and National Planning Policy puts the Green Belt above all other policies. The applicant underplays the significant harms to the Green Belt. The extensive range of very large buildings would in reality have a massive impact on the openness for the Green Belt that is not screened by trees or hedges. This application, by its very location, is urban sprawl toward open countryside, enjoyed by walkers, horse riders, clientele of the adjacent public house etc. Direct and indirect light pollution on households and outdoor users has been underplayed. Furthermore, the proposal would move the borders of Borehamwood close to the rural settlements of Ridge and Shenley, and could create precedents for similar developments The applicant plays down the ‘quality’ of this Green Belt. In fact it has been heavily used for local leisure including grazing for horses at one of the largest horse stable in the locality for many decades. In this context, as clearly evidenced by the submission from the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust this proposal results in a significant net loss to biodiversity, the financial compensation suggested has not been agreed, nor has it been established if it is deliverable and the costings are inadequate. The presence of Great Crested Newts adjacent to the site also has not been considered. As submitted this site is admitted to be the only location reviewed by the applicant, so alternatives to this Green Belt location have not been considered with no further evidence provided. The applicant simply claims their commercial need overrides all other planning considerations; this is wholly unacceptable. If the backlot really is, as claimed, a key driver of this application, it must be noted that the applicant had ample opportunity to build a backlot on their recently constructed and adjacent site. Hertsmere declared a climate emergency in 2019 and intends to achieve carbon neutrality as soon as possible. There has not been adequate consideration that by removing soil and vegetation from this Green Belt land carbon is lost and carbon sinks removed. Alternative sites could create the opportunity to re-purpose existing brownfield land and buildings, but alternatives have not been considered by the applicant. Only 88 local jobs are guaranteed in this application, so the direct economic benefits to this locality are in fact limited. In contrast, many if not most the 1,600 other jobs will be specialist contractors, commuting to the site from unspecified locations across the UK, as illustrated by the propped 1000 vehicle car park. The very limited transport assessment does not take onto account the considerable traffic impact on other parts of Borehamwood, and on Shenley, Ridge and other locations in Hertsmere. The whole point of a Local Plan is to ensure development proposal are matched by local infrastructure, and accepted by the community. This application ignores local views and is attempts to pre-empt our Local Plan process. Yours sincerely

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