Hertsmere Borough Council (HBC) has announced they will not proceed with the draft Local Plan, after considering the record-breaking number of responses from the consultation period.
The leader of HBC, Morris Bright, announced that the Local Plan in its current form would not be moving forward, at a council meeting last night, January 26.
This decision was taken following a record 20,000 responses from Hertsmere residents, with many expressing their concerns about the plan to build 12,160 homes over the Local Plan period and the effect of this on the green belt.
The draft local plan is an important document that sets out how Hertsmere will grow over the next 15 years and beyond by providing homes, infrastructure and jobs for future generations.
The announcement has been welcomed by many residents, who strongly objected to plans to build on greenbelt land. MP for Hertsmere Oliver Dowden, who has actively campaigned against the plans, has also welcomed the decision.
Oliver Dowden, MP for Hertsmere said: “I welcome the council’s decision not to proceed with the draft Local Plan, following an unprecedented response from Hertsmere residents.
“Throughout the Local Plan process, I have urged residents to engage with the council’s consultation and I have frequently raised with councillors the scale of concern about the number of houses in the plan, as well as my own fears about the impact of this on the green spaces in the borough.
“I am delighted that so many residents engaged with the consultation, and that the council has listened and made the decision not to proceed with the plan in its current form. I think it is right that councillors look again at how best to deliver new houses in the borough and draw up a new plan which places the protection of green spaces at its heart.
“Meanwhile, I will continue my campaign to get the Housing Department to reconsider its approach to Hertsmere, where it is hugely difficult to meet housing targets without damaging the beautiful green spaces which make our area such a wonderful place to live.”
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