Hertfordshire Local Plan Watch - Spring 2024

The ‘incentives’ for plan-making within the updated NPPF appear to be working, particularly in south-west Hertfordshire with activity ramping up, albeit under the shadow of a greater protection to the Green Belt and reduced housing numbers being proposed.

Elsewhere, we are seeing activity in terms of Local Plan reviews, especially in the east, which will see opportunities for the promotion of new sites. The extent of opportunities might, however, be subject to how those authorities consider the importance of their Green Belt, against their housing requirements.

In light of the above, the status of the housing land supply of Hertfordshire authorities continues to be an opportunity. There have been three high profile appeals this year, which highlight this:

The recent Secretary of State (SoS) decision in Tring (Dacorum) showed that a severe deficit in the Five-Year Housing Land Supply (5YHLS) isn’t necessarily enough to overcome the protection of the Green Belt, even with a large number of other benefits weighing in its favour. But in Dacorum, the Housing Delivery Test (HDT) result was above 75%, unlike seven of the other Hertfordshire LPAs, and this may have been the key to allowing the SoS to refuse the appeal.

Whereas in Chiswell Green, St Albans, the SoS agreed with the original Inspector in allowing the appeal for up to 391 homes, referencing the importance of the Councils 1.7 year housing land supply (55% HDT).

Meanwhile in Borehamwood, Hertsmere, an appeal for up to 74 homes was allowed in the Green Belt, where "Very Special Circumstances’ were found to justify the development". The site was an identified draft allocation in the Local Plan, but the 1.39 years housing land supply attributed very substantial weight.