Elstree is in Danger

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My comments on your draft Local Plan “Planning for Growth” Dear Hertsmere Planning Department, I strongly object to the Draft Local Plan for Hertsmere, which would do harm to the borough. I object to building on the Greenbelt in ANY location in Hertsmere and on ALL sites named in this Draft Plan(in no particular order) namely: – BE1, BE3, BE5, BE6, HEL152, HEL197, HEL218, HEL369, HEL388, HEL601, HEL212, HEL274, HEL175, B3, B2, B1, HEL235, HEL337b, HEL337c, B4, HEL386, HEL502, HEL505, HEL521, PB2, PB3, HEL162, HEL177, HEL216, HEL318, HEL375, R1, R3, HEL214, HEL220, HEL222, HEL231, HEL348/349, HEL390, HEL228a, HEL228b, HEL320, HEL385c, NS1, HEL345, HEL179, HEL180, HEL199, HEL219/252, HEL509, Media Quarter Loss of Greenbelt – Summary for space The Greenbelt has a unique role to play in capturing and sequestering carbon from the atmosphere long-term; we cannot fight Climate Change without it. In our battle for clean air, the Metropolitan Greenbelt is our most valuable asset and must be preserved. Inherent to the concept of the Greenbelt is its PERMANENCE. Hertsmere Greenbelt is the natural habitat for many forms of wildlife and birds. The proposed sites are covered with numerous public rights of way and bridleways – used for hundreds of years by local residents enjoying the countryside, and these would be lost or their views severely impacted. The greenery is a major characteristic of the area – losing any part of it would change the character forever. Calls to Preserve the Greenbelt In earlier local plan consultations, residents asked Hertsmere BC to protect and preserve the Greenbelt. Hertsmere has over 75% of its land areas in Greenbelt (Dept for Leveling up, Housing and Communities, quoted by CPRE 16/11/21), restricting areas available for development. The draft plan includes proposed development on 10% of Hertsmere’s Greenbelt (1,025 hectares). The Government made public statements on protecting the Greenbelt; The Prime Minister (6/10/21) clearly stated that new homes would be built on brownfield andthis was backed up by a Budget announcement. The Campaign for Rural England (CPRE) finds that Hertsmere’s draft local plan represents 58% of all Greenbelt lost to developments across the whole of England in 2020. The CPRE’S latest report on the state of brownfield in England has found that this previously developed land could accommodate over 1.3m new homes (www.cpre.org.uk 18/11/2021). There needs to be push back by Hertsmere on central Government on the allocation of UK house building by the “standard method” in areas such as Hertsmere where Greenbelt is significant. Building on Greenbelt is attractive to developers as it is often cheaper than building on brownfield. This does not constitute exceptional circumstances. Climate change needs us to consider how we produce food sustainably and locally. The plan does not consider how our Greenbelt could help to meet these needs now and in the future. Data The Government have admitted that the data on which this draft plan is based is out of date. It is likely over-provisioning housing need. The 2021 census data needs to be considered, as does the impact of Brexit (and the consequent change in migration), the pandemic, the move to net zero, and other recent and forecast social and economic trends. The plan does not consider houses or care home spaces currently sitting empty in the borough or the repurposing of petrol forecourt sites (for example) which will become obsolete during the period. Elstree The draft plan includes a near 20% increase in housing planned for Elstree & Borehamwood. At more than one car per UK household – probably closer to two in our semi-rural borough, with the additional traffic coming into Sky Studios and the proposed Media Quarter, this is a huge increase in traffic on our roads. Most local main roads already have severe traffic during school run and rush-hour periods. There are limited short diversion routes between Elstree and Borehamwood when there are incidents or road closures (eg repairs and maintenance to services which are frequent) due to the need to cross the railway line. Watling Street / Elstree Hill North / Elstree Hill South (A5183) and Barnet Lane (A411) are cut-through routes when there is congestion and/or closure on the M1, A1, A41 or M25. It is already particularly difficult for Elstree traffic to turn out of Deacons Hill Road onto Barnet Lane or from Allum Lane onto Watling Street / Elstree Hill North due to the traffic flows on the major roads. This situation has continued to worsen over the years with no improved infrastructure in many decades. Station Road roundabout in Borehamwood is already at capacity for much of the day and gridlocking the high street is not good for trade, air quality or emergency vehicle access. Physical constraints limit the scope for further adjustments to the junction design in the centre of Elstree Village. This area is also a designated Air Quality Management Area (AQMA). Roads in the part of Elstree around Allum Lane, Barnet Lane, Elstree Hill, Deacons Hill, etc are narrow and hilly; they do not support the use of bicycles and do not have capacity for cycle lanes. Cyclists using these roads at rush hour can make the traffic situation worse and even dangerous when cars try to overtake on hills. ADDITIONAL and FURTHER comments to specific sites as detailed below, namely:- HEL197 Land North of Barnet Lane Elstree – 75 homes Green Belt – no exceptional circumstances. Also, local Wildlife Site. Away from existing infrastructure. More than 15 minutes’ walk. No primary schools in the area. Exit to Barnet Lane on a bend and a hill with limited sightlines is dangerous, particularly right turns out and into proposed site. It is already difficult to turn out from Deacons Hill into Barnet Lane. This would be harder. Vehicle exit to Hartfield Avenue would have a negative impact on traffic flow out of Deacons Hill Road onto Barnet Lane and Allum Lane. Proposed cycle route shows lack of understanding of the area, which has steep hills and narrow roads. No public transport serving this area with long steep-hill walk to reach the closest public transport. BE6 Land North of Barnet Lane East – 250 homes This is the village green. It is a nature reserve, a Protected Local Wildlife Site. Trees have TPOs. Greenbelt – no exceptional circumstances. BE1 Schopwick Practice Relocation – Allum Lane Elstree Other sites have been considered, but freedom of information requests have been left unanswered. Greenbelt is cheap, but this is inappropriate development in the Greenbelt and there are no exceptional circumstances. The site is not in Elstree Village near the population it serves; moving a pharmacy and surgery away from Elstree Village would be extremely harmful to the viability of the village and the residents who live there. It would also be inconvenient and add to local traffic. The proposed entrance to the practice is in the dip of a hill, which is already dangerous when there are tailbacks from the refuse sight. There are poor sightlines turning right from the site into Allum Lane due to the adjacent hill, especially during rush-hour tailbacks on the westbound lane. This would be a very dangerous place to locate this for access. The site is not easily accessible given the narrow footpaths on Allum Lane and the hills needed to be negotiated even to get to and from the bus stops. There are no obvious crossing points on the road. The island near Knowl Way and the bus stops is not a safe place to cross given it is on the brow of a hill. At the bottom of Allum Lane, there is no clear site line for pedestrians to see traffic turning into the road. This is particularly dangerous for infirm or vulnerable patients. The dip on the hill in Allum Lane is prone to flooding (at times has become impassable in recent years after heavy rainfall) and the existing meadows help to soak up some of this excess rainwater. Public footpaths used for leisure and mental well-being pass through the site. You can hear yourself think and have wonderful views on this route away from the traffic rather than the Allum Lane / Elstree Hill route. Permitting development in this section of the meadow will make it easier to approve further residential development in the same field which is lucrative to developers, further eroding Greenbelt. Parking is planned to take up additional Greenbelt, rather than be kept underground, to minimise any impact. Further traffic to the area would exacerbate the situation at rush hour and during afternoon school runs. HEL212 Land North of Watford Road – 90 homes (Care units) Greenbelt – no exceptional circumstances, not suitable for extra care as far from town centre. Proposed McCarthy and Stone independent Living Complex is too expensive for most local residents. HEL274 Land at Edgwarebury, Elstree Hill South – 100 homes Greenbelt – no exceptional circumstances, difficult transport links, far from town centre and facilities. New Senior School – Land off Barnet Lane This is Greenbelt land. There are no exceptionalcircumstances to remove it from this protection. Very little of the Borehamwood community is in walking distance of this location, so a large proportion of students would be reliant on bus networks or most-likely cars bringing additional traffic into an already very busy rush hour location. This location does nothing to serve the Radlett, Shenley or Aldenham communities, who do not have access to a local state secondary school and could only reasonably access this location by private car. BE3 – Land East of Cowley Hill 800 homes proposed for Borehamwood are in Shenley Parish; this impacts on Borehamwood as all Council Taxes would be paid to Shenley Parish and NOT Elstree & Borehamwood Town Council. Brownfield Sites – Density of Development and other issues The purely brownfield redevelopment sites (BE5, HEL388)in the plan are preferential to Greenbelt sites; however,the schools, and possibly GP infrastructure to support them, will likely need to be on Greenbelt. To achieve the numbers on the sites, these are going to need to be high rise developments, possibly 2 tower blocks in the middle of Shenley Road. There is no thought through plan given for improved transportationor other infrastructure. The gym, bingo and cinema all add to creating a vibrant Town and bring footfall to local shops. Car parking is necessary for shops, All Saints Church events and 96 Shenley Rd events and production. Thank you for receiving my comments. Yours sincerely

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