Planning appeal Inquiry – land west of Leighton Buzzard Rd, Hemel Hempstead

CPRE Hertfordshire along with several local community groups and the Friends of Halsey Field have come together as the Gade Valley Communities Coalition to form a Rule 6 Combined Objectors Group. We will fully participate in the upcoming planning appeal Inquiry and do everything we can to fight this damaging and inappropriate development proposal.

In 2021 Fairfax Ltd submitted a planning application for 390 dwellings and a residential care home of up to 70 beds on an unallocated greenfield site north of Hemel Hempstead, in Dacorum Borough.

The proposed development site is a beautiful landscape nestled between Halsey Field Wildlife Site, the River Gade chalk stream, and Piccotts End Conservation Area. The site is located in the Green Belt, and in the setting of the Chilterns National Landscape (formerly the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty).

Dacorum Borough Council refused permission in December 2023 and Fairfax then lodged an appeal. The Planning Inspectorate will conduct an appeal Inquiry in public commencing Tuesday 15th October 2024. Our Gade Valley Communities Coalition Combined Objectors Group will participate fully at the Inquiry, assisted by our barrister, and our own CPRE Hertfordshire Planning Manager Chris Berry will be an expert witness for the Group. We will do everything we can to defend the Green Belt from this inappropriate, speculative development proposal.

And we need your help too! There are three ways to help – donate to our campaign fund, come along and attend the Inquiry, and share our campaign flyer with your friends and neighbours.

Donate to help fight this development

Please help fight this development proposal by donating to the Gade Valley Communities Coalition campaign fund. Any amount is hugely appreciated, and you can donate by bank transfer or by cheque. Thank you so much for your support.

Bank transfer. The Gade Valley Communities Coalition, Account 54756968, Sort Code 23-05-80.

Cheque. Contact the Gade Valley Communities Coalition by email at gvccoalition@outlook.com for further instructions.

Show your support by attending the Inquiry

We also encourage local people to attend the Inquiry. Attendance is important because it demonstrates to the Planning Inspector the strength of feeling about protecting the countryside in this location. You don’t need to attend the entire time; you can come for a few hours on any of the days the Inquiry is in progress.

The Inquiry will be held in the Council Chamber at The Forum, Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire HP1 1DN, starting at 1000 on Tuesday 15^th October 2024. The Inquiry is currently expected to run from 15th to 18th October and 3rd to 6th December.

Find out more and view the Inquiry documents on Dacorum Borough Council’s webpage for public inquiries.

The planning appeal documentation is available to view on the Dacorum Borough public access planning portal at https://planning.dacorum.gov.uk/publicaccess/  and then select Appeals (not Applications or Enforcement), and enter Appeal reference 24/00036/REFU, or view the original planning application and associated documents by selecting Applications and entering Planning Application reference 21/04508/MOA

You may also wish to see our original objection to the development proposal.

Help spread the word

You can also help by downloading the campaign flyer and sharing it with neighbours and friends.

Download

Thank you for helping to preserve the precious Gade Valley!