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25/02885/OP Land At Mill Lane, London Road, St Ippolyts, Hitchin, SG4 7NN

 

 

Meeting: 13/08/2026 - Planning Control Committee (Item 43)

43 25/02885/OP LAND AT MILL LANE, LONDON ROAD, ST IPPOLYTS, HITCHIN, SG4 7NN pdf icon PDF 495 KB

REPORT OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION MANAGER

 

Erection of up to 41 dwellings with associated infrastructure and open space (all matters reserved except means of access) (additional and amended plans received 23/04/26 and 10/06/26).

Additional documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED: That application 22/00956/OP be GRANTED planning permission subject to:

 

A)        Providing delegated powers to the Development and Conservation Manager to agree the outstanding S106 Heads of Terms related to the sports pavilion, and any other minor changes to conditions and informatives as required; and

 

B)        The completion of the S106 Legal Agreement and any necessary extension of time taken to complete this; and

 

C)        The conditions and informatives as set out in the report of the Development and Conservation Manager, with amendments to Conditions 7, 12 and 20, as follows:

 

‘Condition 7

 

No development shall take place (including ground works or vegetation clearance) until a construction environmental management plan (CEMP: Biodiversity) has been submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority. The CEMP (Biodiversity) should be informed by the November 2025 Ecological Impact Assessment and include the following:

 

a)         Risk assessment of potentially damaging construction activities.

b)         Identification of "biodiversity protection zones".

c)         Practical measures to avoid or reduce impacts during construction.

d)         The location and timing of sensitive works to harm to biodiversity features.

e)         Use of protective fences, exclusion barriers and warning signs.

 

The approved CEMP shall be adhered to and implemented throughout the construction period strictly in accordance with the approved details, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the local planning authority.

 

Reason: To protect wildlife and biodiversity. LP Policy NE4.

 

Condition 12

 

Parking / Internal roads / Turning areas:

 

The detailed plans should be submitted in connection with approval of reserved matters application which shall show to the satisfaction of the Local Planning Authority:

o      The details of all hard surfaced areas within the site. This includes, but is not limited to, all roads, footways, forecourts, driveways, parking and turning areas, and foul and surface water drainage.

o      The level of footway and carriageway visibility from each individual vehicle access, and the level of visibility from and around each main junction within the site, within which there shall be no obstruction to visibility between 600mm and 2m above the carriageway level.

o      That service vehicles, including refuse and emergency vehicles, can safely and conveniently access and route through the site, to include the provision of sufficient turning and operating areas.

o      The provision of sufficient facilities for cycle storage.

All these features shall be provided before first occupation and maintained in perpetuity.

 

Reason: To provide adequate visibility for drivers within the site, to promote alternative modes of travel, and for the overall free and safe flow of all site users.

 

Condition 20

 

No residential development shall be more than two storey in height.

 

Reason: To ensure that the new development is in keeping with local context. LP Policy D1.’

Minutes:

Audio recording – 01 hours 34 minutes 15 seconds

 

The Principal Planning Officer (Development Management) provided a verbal update on matters relating to Application 25/02885/OP and advised that:

 

·             The written update published with the supplementary documents to the agenda contained details of contributions sought by Hertfordshire County Council Growth and Infrastructure Team, information on the project that sustainable transport contributions would support, 1 late neighbour representation and minor corrections to the report.

·             A request from St Ippolyts Parish Council had been made for any sports pavilion contributions to be index linked to Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) Q1 2024.

·             49 responses had been received on the application, with 45 in objection and 2 being neutral, which superseded paragraph 3.21 of the report.

·             None of the responses raised matters different to those already detailed in the report except for the response summarised in the written update.

 

The Principal Planning Officer (Development Management) then presented the report in respect of Application 25/02885/OP accompanied by a visual presentation consisting of plans and photographs.

 

The following Members asked questions:

 

·             Councillor Tom Tyson

·             Councillor Claire Winchester

·             Councillor Jon Clayden

·             Councillor Caroline McDonnell

·             Councillor Bryony May

 

In response to questions, the Development and Conservation Manager advised that:

 

·             All sites in the Green Belt, including this one, were subject to a planning application measured against criteria in paragraph 155 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), and the ‘Golden Rules’ would need to be met for it to be acceptable.

·             The western half of the site would be protected from future residential development by condition as public open space if permission was granted.

 

In response to questions, the Principal Planning Officer (Development Management) advised that:

 

·             The western part of the site would remain in the Green Belt as public open space.

·             Details of how Mill Lane would be closed were unknown, but the Highways Authority had insisted that traffic should go through the development to London Road rather than via Mill Lane for highways safety reasons.

·             Land could be classed as Grey Belt if it met the tests related to the purposes of the Green Belt and the additional tests at paragraph 155 of the NPPF.

·             Existing development was on three sides of the eastern part of the site, which meant that it only made a moderate contribution to stopping urban sprawl and the site had been designated as Grey Belt as it had met all the other tests.

·             Landscaping would be a consideration for the reserved matters application, but it also needed to demonstrate suitable mitigations to progress.

·             Different site access options had been considered by the Highways Authority, and the proposal before them was the only option they were willing to support.

·             A planning application for land to the south would need to be considered on its own merits and separate tests.

 

The Chair invited the first Public Objector, Mr Matt White to speak against the application. Mr White thanked the Chair for the opportunity and provided the Committee with a verbal presentation, and highlighted  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43