Note from St Albans District Council

An independent assessment of local housing needs has been published today on St Albans City and District council’s website.

In January 2013, the Council’s Cabinet decided to commission studies to inform the evidence base for the forthcoming Strategic Local Plan.  

This decision was in response to a motion from full Council on 28 November 2012.  Among other items, the motion required that “an independent commission of housing need in St Albans and its District should be set up to inform the evidence base.”

The resulting independent report, prepared by Housing Vision Ltd, has just been made available to the Council and published on our website.  Councillors have not yet had an opportunity to consider the report’s content.   (more…)

The appeal by the developers has been allowed.

The reasoning is set out here: DECISION (21)

Victims of the district council’s planning system may be relieved to read that it is now to be reviewed by external people.

Statement from District Council

Representatives from the Local Government Association will undertake an independent review to help St Albans City and District Council improve its planning service.

Our planning service is the busiest of all District Councils in England, dealing with around 3,000 applications per year. 

Over the last few years, the service’s performance has improved significantly and it now exceeds government time targets for determining all types of planning applications. A challenge for the Council is to maintain this high level of performance into the future, as the economy recovers and if the number of applications increases.

To help with this, the Council last year invited the Local Government Association and the national Planning Advisory Service to look at the service and suggest further improvements. This review will take place between 11 and 13 February.

The review team will be led by Rob Cottrill, Chief Executive of Eastbourne Borough Council, and Councillor Neil Clarke, Leader of Rushcliffe Borough Council. It will hold workshops with representatives of resident and amenity groups, local businesses, community organisations, customers and other partners, as well as District Councillors.It is anticipated that the recommendations of the review team will help the Council to:

• Identify how our planning service can continue to improve its engagement with customers and stakeholders.
• Identify how our planning service can best support the wider objectives of the Council, residents and businesses.
• Benchmark what we do against other leading planning departments.

Note from District Council

Railfreight Appeal

We have now received a substantive response from the Treasury Solicitor to our letters dated 18 January.  I attach a copy of the response.  You will note that the Treasury Solicitor contends that the decision by the Secretary of State contained in his letter dated 14 December not to reopen the Radlett Inquiry and conjoin it with the Colnbrook appeal is lawful.  Accordingly, the Secretary of State is not prepared to reconsider his decision of 14 December.  I am seeking Counsel’s advice on the Treasury Solicitor’s letter.  I will write to you again after I have received his advice.

Statement by Liberal Democrat County Councillors

Hertfordshire Liberal Democrat County Councillors’ position on the Rail
Freight Terminal on the Old Radlett Aerodrome site has always been quite
clear.

We have (along with fellow Lib Dem Councillors in St Albans and local
residents) strongly opposed the application for a Rail Freight Terminal
on this site. Indeed local county councillor Aislinn Lee has been a
leading light in helping oppose the scheme and getting the plans rejected
at local level.

It is our view that the Secretary of State has acted unreasonably in
changing his position to “minded to grant” thus overriding local views.
We very much oppose this view. Therefore we support any all legal
measures, including judicial review, to overturn a “grant” decision.

Likewise we oppose the sale of any of Herts County Council land that
would facilitate the development of a rail freight terminal on this sire
or in the green belt.

As a Group we are clear that we will not vote to release land for this project-
however we do not have a majority on the Council but hope that the
Conservatives, who do, will likewise  support local residents by refusing
to sell the land required.

We strongly believe  that Hertfordshire County Council as land owners
must act to protect residents of Hertfordshire as a Rail Freight
Terminal on this site has much greater implications for wider
communities in the whole of the south and west of Hertfordshire.

Clearly in our view the council must not do anything that would
facilitate this development either by sale of land or by entering into
S106 agreements with Helioslough until legally required to.

Extracts from the Review

Full story

Plans for a major development of eighty new houses on a site in St Albans were described as ‘hilarious’ at a council meeting on Tuesday night where they were turned down.

Councillors on St Albans District Council planning committee criticised the plans to construct 80 dwellings, including one, two and three bedroom apartments and flats, at Evershed House in Alma Road.

The application put forward by Spen Hill Developments also proposed demolishing five commercial, industrial and storage buildings, building a food superstore with a cafe, seven shop buildings on London Road, and make space for 477 car parking spaces in Inkerman Road and Alma Road.

Since the plans were put forward, concerns have been raised about the small number of homes which will be affordable housing and the impact on the conservation area.

Residents from Alma Road and Inkerman Road expressed their concerns about the excessive height of the proposed buildings, lack of privacy, loss of sunlight, loss of views and the impact of the on-street parking.

Mark Whittan, representative from Spen Hill Development addressed the meeting, which was chaired by Councillor Tom Clegg, for three minutes with his reasons for putting the “imaginative” application forward.

He said: “I would urge you to side with the 300 plus people who attended our exhibition, the eight families that can move into new quality properties next April coming off of your housing list and the persons with learning difficulties that can be housed in London Colney.”

In response, Councillor Joyce Lusby,said : “Three bedroom houses certainly goes no way to solving the housing problem in St Albans for social housing. Three bedrooms and 80 houses is no way at all adequate and we set our sights on 30 per cent social housing and to allow it to be on site at 9 per cent, I think is hilarious and so wrong.

“And then for the speaker to say at the end if we refuse it will go on for a long time because they will go to appeal, well I almost see that as blackmail.

“That is not the issue here and the social housing issue is the main one to my account and the overlooking of Inkerman Road.”

Another councillor, sitting in on the meeting also said the planning applications would not solve the problem of a lack of social housing in the district.

The planning application was refused with five councillors voting against the application and only one councillor voted in favour.

St Albans City and District Council is extending the hours of its telephone advice service for residents seeking guidance about planning matters.

This is part of a package of measures to make the planning service more customer focused.

There is already a drop-in advice service for residents on Monday afternoons from 1pm to 4pm, Wednesday mornings, from 9am to 12.30pm, and a telephone service on Wednesday afternoons, between 1pm and 5.15pm.

From 5 April, an additional telephone duty service on Thursday mornings between 9am and 12.30pm will be provided.