Hertsmere Borough Council Local Plan Review of Selected Green Belt Sites and Boundaries Assessment for Site Allocations and Development Management Policies Published March 2014 (edited April 2014) Contents 1. Introduction 2. Planning Policy Context 3. Background Issues influencing the Review 4. Methodology of Research and Proposed Methods of Management for Sites 5. Reviewing Key Green Belt Sites 6. Potential Key Green Belt Sites 7. Review of Local Green Belt Boundary Alterations 8. Conclusion and Recommendations for Planning Policy Notes: This document was initially prepared in March 2013. It was edited following a ‘Call for Sites’ Consultation in April 2013 and during the drafting phase of the Consultation Draft Site Allocations and Development Management Policies DPD. It was edited in April 2014 to correct errors to the following maps in Section 7: - 7.16 Heathbourne Road: show haulage yard and parcel of land to the south east as being removed from safeguard land status - 7.19 Woodcock Hill: also show the land as being returned to the Green Belt - 7.20 West Herts College Annexe: align the Green Belt boundary to the north of the (former) safeguarded land - 7.23 Land between A1 and Rowley Lane; align the Green Belt boundary along the northern and eastern boundaries of the safeguarded land. All aerial photographs and maps are reproduced from the Ordinance Survey mapping with the permission of the controller of Her Majesty’s Stationary Office. Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Hertsmere Borough Council Licence number: 10017428 Please note: The outline of the site boundaries on the aerial photographs are indicative only; it is intended to indicate the extent of the site in the landscape. It should not be used to identify legal site boundaries. 1. Introduction 1.1 The forthcoming Local Plan for Hertsmere will replace the current Local Plan which was adopted in 2003. The Core Strategy is a key statutory Development Plan Document (DPD) which sets out the Council’s vision and strategy for the Borough from now until 2027, and a variety of overarching policies to guide future development and land use in the Borough. It also sets the parameters for further policy documents: the Site Allocations and Development Management Policies DPDs. The Core Strategy has already superseded some policies in the Local Plan 2003. 1.2 It is the role of the Local Planning Authority to meet the obligations of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in order to ensure the Green Belt is protected throughout and beyond the time frame of the plan period. The Core Strategy does not indicate any general review of the Green Belt boundary: development is directed to the main settlements (i.e. urban areas). 1.3 While the principles of the Green Belt policy have changed very little, it is inevitable that the scale and use of large scale developments will have changed and will continue to do so. The purpose of this review is therefore to identify: whether the existing Key Green Belt Sites (KGBS) (formerly known as Major Developed Sites/MDS) meet the objectives of the NPPF; what the long term likely scenarios for the development of these are; whether there are any other sites within the Borough that should be included as a KGBS; and whether, in the context of the future planning of particular sites or locations, there should be any minor change to the Green Belt boundary. The underlying purpose for making changes is to ensure the Green Belt is protected throughout and beyond the time frame of the Local Plan, or put another way, the right land is protected in the right way. 1.4 Hertsmere is in south-west Hertfordshire and borders North London. Eighty per cent of the Borough is Green Belt. As a result of the proximity to London, there is a profusion of activities occurring within the Green Belt, many of which predate planning policy, including established institutions and reasonably substantial settlements. Land use has changed and developed over time, land has been redeveloped and there is constant pressure on the Green belt boundaries so it is vital to have defensible Green Belt boundaries and identify those uses that are appropriate for KGBS designation. Why are we doing this review? 1.5 The production of the new Local Plan provides the opportunity to provide the spatial means of accommodating the many conflicting needs in terms of development. These documents will contain the policies by which development will be guided for the period of the Plan. It is therefore appropriate that the status of each of the current Site Allocations is justified. 1.6 For example, a KGBS within the Green Belt may have had extensive alterations over its life span and is no longer accommodated within its boundaries for appropriate infilling. It may therefore be more fitting that this boundary is changed in a managed way whilst ensuring that the purposes of including land within the Green Belt is maintained, rather 1 than having a number of developments with no comprehensive strategy. Conversely, a major research site within the Green Belt may wish to close or relocate as the needs of their industry may mean their site no longer meets industry standards. It may therefore be appropriate to remove this designation as a major developed site in order to restore the land back to its open state, or to enable an alternative use to utilise the site. 2 2. Planning Policy Context Sustainable Development 2.1 ‘Policies in Local Plans should follow the approach of the presumption in favour of sustainable development so that it is clear that development which is sustainable can be approved without delay. All plans should be based upon and reflect the presumption in favour of sustainable development, with clear policies that will guide how the presumption should be applied locally’ (NPPF, paragraph 15) 2.2 ‘Plans and decisions need to take local circumstances into account, so that they respond to the different opportunities for achieving sustainable development in different areas’ (NPPF, paragraph 10) 2.3 The majority of the formerly known major developed sites in the Green Belt are not in sustainable localities especially in the case of the research institutions that have purposefully located themselves away from urban areas. There are locations that are more suitable for development in terms of sustainability objectives than the existing or potential MDS locations. However the existing and potential MDSs are established uses. Policies governing the management and possible redevelopment of the sites need to promote sustainable alternative uses. Green Belt 2.4 The NPPF on the Green Belt sets out the Government’s intentions of the Green Belt policy, and seeks to guide and manage the types and extent of development that occurs on Green Belt land. The Framework states that ‘the fundamental aim of the Green Belt policy is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open; the most important attribute of Green Belts is their openness’. Green Belts can shape patterns of development at sub-regional and regional scale, and help to ensure that development occurs in locations allocated in Development Plan Documents such as the Site Allocations DPD. 2.5 The NPPF contains the five purposes of including land within the Green Belt as well as defining the types of uses of this land which contributes to fulfilling a range of objectives for the Green Belt policy. The extent to which the use of land fulfils these objectives is not itself a material factor in the inclusion of land within a Green Belt, or in its continued protection. For example, although Green Belts often contain areas of attractive landscape, the quality of the landscape is not relevant to the inclusion of land within a Green Belt. For the purpose of this review it is important to understand the purposes and objectives of the Green Belt policy in order to most appropriately determine the role of KGBS, to review the status of the existing sites, and find potential for new sites to be designated in the Hertsmere Core Strategy. The purposes of including land within a Green Belt take precedence over the land use objectives. 2.6 Purposes of including land in Green Belts (paragraph 80 of the NPPF) are: . to check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas; . to prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another; . to assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment; . to preserve the setting and special character of historic towns; and . to assist in urban regeneration, by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land. 2.7 The use of land in Green Belts (paragraph 81 of the NPPF) should: 3 . provide opportunities for access; . provide opportunities for outdoor sport and recreation; . retain and enhance landscapes, visual amenity and biodiversity; and . improve damaged and derelict land. 2.8 Defining the boundary of the Green Belt is especially important in order for the Green Belt itself to be defensible. Once the Green Belt boundaries have been decided they should only be changed under exceptional circumstances. The NPPF advocates that boundaries should be drawn so that they will endure, and land that is unnecessary to be kept open should not be included in the Green Belt. If the boundaries are nonsensical or too tightly drawn the Green Belt boundaries will be difficult to defend and therefore the Green Belt will be under threat from encroachment. 2.9 Green Belts should have intended permanence to endure beyond the Plan period. The Green belt boundary should be consistent with the need to meet identified requirements for sustainable development. The local authority should be satisfied that the boundary will not need to be altered at the end of the plan period, or include land which is not necessary to keep permanently open.