WOOLMER GREEN PARISH COUNCIL

Mrs. J. Pearce, Parish Clerk, Village Hall, Hall Lane, Woolmer Green, Herts. SG3 6XA Tel no: 01438 813501 e mail: [email protected]

Woolmer Green Parish Council response to North Herts District Draft Local Plan 2011-2031 consultation.

Knebworth.

Paragraphs 13.188-13.202

Woolmer Green Parish Council does not consider the North Herts Draft Local Plan to be sound as a 31% growth proposed for is not sustainable development and cannot be justified.

Woolmer Green, being located on the boundary of Hatfield and North Herts is dependent on facilities located in the village in Knebworth and much of the existing infrastructure is already inadequate. There are no proposals to deliver significant improvements to infrastructure that can support the increase in housing in both Woolmer Green and Knebworth.

In the Local Plan, Woolmer Green has been allocated 150 new houses but the owners of two designated employment areas in the village are objecting to the employment designation as they want to develop their sites into housing or mixed use. Woolmer Green Parish Council considers that the employment area designation for these two brownfield sites is non deliverable and unless the Welwyn Hatfield Local Plan is changed Woolmer Green could potentially increase by over 270 new dwellings up until 2032.

Roads.

The B197 runs through Knebworth and Woolmer Green and is the only available overflow for the A1M. At peak times this road is becoming progressively busier as motorists increasingly choose to use the B197 to avoid congestion on the motorway. When the A1M has to be closed, which is not infrequent, the B197 is at a standstill. Paragraph 4.25 acknowledges that “it is unlikely that all the extra economically active population over the plan period will take up jobs within the District” therefore the combined traffic from the significant growth of settlements in North Herts and will put the A1M and B197 under further acute strain and increase air pollution in the settlements.

The B197 through Knebworth is a bottle neck as cars park on both sides of the high street. A 31% growth in Knebworth will further disrupt the free flow of traffic to and from Woolmer Green.

There are no plans to widen the A1M and the Smart Motorway proposed to be introduced between junctions 6 and 8, which is one of the busiest sections of the A1M motorway, is to mitigate present congestion and will have little impact on coping with future growth in North Herts, Welwyn Hatfield and Stevenage. Attempted improvements that have been implemented at junction 6 to try to alleviate queuing have not produced the desired outcome and has resulted in an increased number of accidents. Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council’s draft Infrastructure Delivery Plan states “The Local Transport Plan 2011 – 2031 identifies the need for capacity on the A1M to be increased between and the North of Stevenage to address existing capacity issues. However, it is acknowledged that this is not currently in the Highways Agency’s programme of works.”

The County Council’s Transport Vision 2050 acknowledges congestion will inevitably increase in the future but states there is insufficient funding to expand the road network. The Transport Vision 2050 will rely on encouraging people to use public transport or walk or cycle to work. This can only have an impact within towns and people that work outside of their home settlement will continue to use their car. Also the bus service has been reduced in recent years.

As the Council “wishes to focus the majority of new development on the towns” (para. 4.11) in its Local Plan then increasing the village of Knebworth by 31% is unreasonable. Any significant housing growth along the B197 corridor is not sustainable and fails policy SP1 as the impact on the road network through Woolmer Green and Knebworth cannot be mitigated.

Railway.

Both Woolmer Green and Knebworth are desirable places to live because of their proximity to London, which greatly benefits from drawing on the skills of workers living outside the capital. The Local Plan states that Knebworth station has grown by 71% in the last ten years. With at least 150 houses proposed in Woolmer Green and 600 in Knebworth a significant proportion of new residents will want to use the trains to commute.

The Thameslink route to London via Knebworth is already overcrowded and is a major issue at peak times. Govia Thameslink are looking to alleviate congestion on London underground by extending the route into Kent but have no plans to increase the service at Knebworth. A significant increase in commuters will make commuting into London increasingly unappealing as the service becomes severely constrained.

Woolmer Green does not have a railway station and commuters from the village rely on Knebworth station. More commuters arriving from Woolmer Green will add to parking problems and increased congestion in Knebworth at peak times.

School.

A new primary school is proposed for Knebworth in the Local Plan. It begs the question as to whether 600 new homes are needed in Knebworth primarily to supply a new school. However it is also going to rely on attracting pupils from outside of Knebworth to fill all the places and this will increase traffic passing through Woolmer Green. This does not “encourage development in locations which enable sustainable journeys” so fails policy SP6 b.

Health Care.

Many Woolmer Green residents rely on the Knebworth doctor’s surgery which is less than adequate to meet current needs and identified as “constrained”. Combined, Woolmer Green and Knebworth will grow by at least 29% in 15 years which is the same as the growth of the proposed new doctor’s surgery. Also Woolmer Green has two care homes and a high proportion of older residents which has a significant impact on health resources. Therefore there will be no improvement in health care provision and the service will continue to be unsatisfactory which is unreasonable.

Green Belt.

Villages are defined by their surrounding countryside and the Green Belt Review states that the sites in Knebworth make “an overall significant contribution to Green Belt purposes”. The Local Plan proposes that Knebworth be engulfed by development which will have a “substantial adverse impact on the openness” of the countryside which is enjoyed by the residents of Knebworth and its neighbours. A 31% increase in development is unreasonable, diminishes quality of life and cannot be justified in a rural village.

In conclusion, the growth of Knebworth needs to be significantly scaled down to ensure a reasonable quality of life for its residents and its neighbours.