Local Plan – Inspectors provide dates for second set of hearings
A second set of hearings into the draft Local Plan for St Albans District are to start next month.
The event is a significant milestone in the effort to get the Local Plan (LP), a blueprint for the District’s future growth, adopted.
St Albans City and District Council submitted the LP to the Government last year for examination by independent Planning Inspectors.
The Inspectors, Matthew Birkinshaw and Thomas Bristow, held a first set of hearings in the spring to determine if the LP is sound, legally compliant and capable of achieving its goals.
They have now decided to move to Stage Two Hearings to further scrutinise the LP and listen to any objections.
The hearings will be held at the Civic Centre, St Albans, on the following dates:
- Tuesday 14 to Friday 17 October.
- Tuesday 21 to Friday 24 October.
- Tuesday 4 to Friday 7 November.
- Tuesday 11 to Friday 14 November.
The hearings will take place at the Council’s Civic Centre, in St Albans, apart from the final week which will be online. The proceedings will be broadcast live by webcast.
Only individuals or organisations which have raised objections to the LP will be entitled to speak, so no supportive voices will be heard except the Council’s.
The hearings will deal with a wide range of issues which are set out in a detailed programme schedule.
These include sustainability, the Green Belt, housing growth, housing type and mix, site selection, employment areas and community infrastructure.
The hearing on Tuesday 21 October will focus on strategic issues involving the Hemel Garden Communities development and will include Dacorum Borough Council representatives.
Councillor Paul de Kort, the Council Leader, said:
I am delighted that we have reached this advanced stage in the complex and challenging task of adopting a Local Plan for the District.
Producing a Local Plan is probably the biggest and most daunting task faced by a District Council and has involved more than three years of demanding work.
It is very satisfying that we have completed the first set of hearings and are now proceeding to the next stage according to the statutory process.
This second set of hearings will allow objectors to raise any concerns they may have whilst we will be given the opportunity to respond in full to the points they make.
Following the hearings, the Inspectors will compile a report for the Council with its initial findings, setting out their conclusions and any modifications to the LP which they deem necessary.
If this process is finished successfully, the LP may be adopted around spring next year.
When completed, the LP will comprise a single document, providing a blueprint for the sustainable growth of the District over the next 16 years.
It will identify land suitable for future housing and commercial development as well as the necessary infrastructure.
The proposed LP allows for the building of 15,000 new homes in the District up to 2041 at designated sites. This figure is in accordance with national planning policy guidelines and will include 1,200 social rent properties.
It also provides for £750 million of new infrastructure including eight primary schools, four secondary schools, improvements to public transport, locations for thousands of new jobs, green spaces and health facilities.
Media contact: John McJannet, Principal Communications Officer: 01727-819533, john.mcjannet@stalbans.gov.uk.