Agenda item

REPORT OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION MANAGER

Outline planning application for the development of up to 300 dwellings (all matters reserved except for access) (amended plans 23 October 2025).

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

A) The completion of a satisfactory legal agreement and the applicant agreeing to extend the statutory period in order to complete the agreement if required; and

B) Providing delegated powers to the Development and Conservation Manager to (i) resolve outstanding matters including financial contributions and (ii) update conditions and informatives with minor amendments as required; and

C) The conditions as set out in the report of the Development and Conservation Manager.

Audio recording – 05 minutes 23 seconds

N.B. Councillor Caroline McDonnell declared an interest on the item and moved to the public speaking gallery.

The Principal Planning Officer (Major Sites) provided a verbal update on matters relating to Application 22/00956/OP and advised that:

· The Agent to the Applicant had sent an email detailing the triggers for delivery of highway works, and this was available to view on the Council website.

· Officers would wait for the Highways Authority to respond on the above.

· The word ‘Knebworth’ in paragraph 6 in the written update published with the supplementary documents to the agenda should have been removed.

The Principal Planning Officer (Major Sites) then presented the report in respect of application 22/00956/OP accompanied by a visual presentation consisting of plans and photographs.

The following Members asked questions:

· Councillor Jon Clayden

· Councillor Tom Tyson

In response to questions, the Principal Planning Officer (Major Sites) advised that:

· The Applicant had addressed flooding and drainage matters onsite and the Local Lead Flood Authority (LLFA) had withdrawn their objection and recommended further conditions.

· There were 480 homes in the Wymondley Parish.

The Chair invited the first Public Objector, Mr Peter Bailey to speak against the application. Mr Bailey thanked the Chair for the opportunity and provided the Committee with a verbal presentation, and highlighted the following:

· Hitchin had received little rainfall in the last 6 weeks, and the additional dwellings would have a serious impact on Hitchin and the surrounding area.

· There had been no mention of drought conditions in the report.

· Measures to address air pollution and dust generated by the development would be minimal.

· Roads through Hitchin and Stevenage would be grid locked from the vehicles that new residents on this development would bring.

· There was concern on the heat that the extra dwellings would generate as this would compound with the construction of the nearby solar farm.

· New dwellings would add to carbon contributions.

There were no points of clarification from Members.

The Chair thanked Mr Bailey for their presentation and invited the second Public Objector, Ms Hayley Ward to speak against the application. Ms Ward thanked the Chair for the opportunity and provided the Committee with a verbal presentation, and highlighted the following:

· The Planning Inspector, as part of the Local Plan examination, had recognised several traffic and flooding related issues with the site.

· The site was less sustainable than surrounding strategic sites and should not be considered until they had been developed as per Policy SP2 of the Local Plan.

· Nitrous oxide monitoring in 2017-19 showed that legal EU limits were repeatedly exceeded next to the site, which highlighted air quality issues and conflicted with the Local Plan.

· Air quality monitoring took place during the COVID-19 lockdown, and since then, there had been the addition of other developments and the proposed Luton Airport expansion, which would require mitigations.

· The land was compressible and potentially unstable.

· The Environment Agency questioned the contamination investigations undertaken as housing foundations could create pathways for ground water contamination.

· Flooding in the area was well documented, including an event that had triggered a Section 19 report.

· Existing residents living downhill from the proposed development had not been assured that flooding would not impact them.

There were no points of clarification from Members.

The Chair thanked Ms Ward for their presentation and invited the third Public Objector, Wymondley Parish Councillor Paul Harding to speak against the application. Parish Councillor Harding thanked the Chair for the opportunity and provided the Committee with a verbal presentation, and highlighted the following:

· The objective of Policy WY1 in the Local Plan had not been met by this site.

· The full objection from Wymondley Parish Council was detailed within the report.

· Wymondley Parish Council doubted that this development could be integrated with the existing area as Little Wymondley would be roughly doubled.

· Nearly doubling the population without providing the necessary amenities and facilities risked creating a completely car-dependent community.

· Proposed cycle access to Stevenage missed the point that the main destination for residents would be Hitchin.

· Excluding a village hall from the S106 financial contributions request was concerning as the facility would help to create a sustainable community.

· There was uncertainty over who would pay and maintain the drainage, flood protection measures, paths, play areas and open spaces.

· There was no feasibility study to prove that 40% affordable housing was viable.

· Pressure from development already existed on Little Wymondley and this application could not be considered in isolation.

· The application should either be refused or deferred until the outstanding issues had been resolved and a site visit by the Committee had taken place.

There were no points of clarification from Members.

The Chair thanked Parish Councillor Harding for their presentation and invited the first Member Advocate Objector, Councillor Dominic Griffiths to speak against the application. Councillor Griffiths thanked the Chair for the opportunity and provided the Committee with a verbal presentation, and highlighted the following:

· The data in the Highways report was fundamentally flawed as it was conducted in 2020 during COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and did not reflect current commuting patterns.

· Subsequent surveys had failed to account for pinch points in Little Wymondley, which meant that the application was based on misrepresented data.

· Adding several hundred extra vehicles into narrow lanes and constrained junctions would worsen highways safety and flow, which would justify refusing planning permission, as per paragraph 115 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

· Safety would be further compromised with the addition of 300 dwellings as facilities in Little Wymondley were limited, and there were no commuting options or easy pedestrian or cycle access to the nearest towns.

· The Planning Inspector, as part of the Local Plan examination, acknowledged that traffic in Little Wymondley would be unavoidably exacerbated by this development.

The following Members asked points of clarification:

· Councillor Tom Tyson

· Councillor Val Bryant

· Councillor Nigel Mason

In response to points of clarification, Councillor Griffiths advised that:

· The only bus service in Little Wymondley did not currently operate due to nearby solar farm works but the Parish Council had organised a community bus service in the meantime, which had been delayed and could not go through the whole village due to parked cars anyway.

· Arriva had informed him that they would not be instating an additional bus service.

· The solar farm works would end by mid-October.

The Chair thanked Councillor Griffiths for their presentation and invited the second Member Advocate Objector, Councillor Ralph Muncer to speak against the application. Councillor Muncer thanked the Chair for the opportunity and provided the Committee with a verbal presentation, and highlighted the following:

· Nearby roads experienced chronic congestion and were in disrepair, and the Parish Council had been the first to declare a traffic emergency to highlight this.

· Nothing in the S106 contributions would mitigate highways related concerns.

· The active travel route to Stevenage would not alleviate concerns as residents would rather travel to Hitchin.

· Nothing had been proposed to address the increased use of nearby junctions at the A602 or Three Moorhens roundabout.

· With pressured education budgets, there were important financial issues surrounding Wymondley School and they should not set it up to fail.

· A site-specific flood risk assessment should be undertaken to better understand the impacts of this development on Stevenage Road, which frequently flooded.

The following Members asked points of clarification:

· Councillor Val Bryant

· Councillor Nigel Mason

In response to points of clarification, Councillor Muncer advised that:

· An education assessment should be sought to determine whether action proposed by Hertfordshire County Council for Wymondley School was appropriate.

· A traffic emergency was declared by Wymondley Parish Council to draw attention to HGV congestion, road safety and road surface conditions and a fundamental restructuring of the roads in the parish was needed to mitigate vehicle movements.

· Wymondley School had seen 84 fewer forms of entry since 2015, and this trend would continue.

· Wymondley School would be put into a negative financial position in the medium to short-term if upgraded before more forms of entry were received.

The Chair thanked Councillor Muncer for their presentation and invited the Agent to the Applicant, Ms Phillippa Martin-Moran to speak in support of the application. Ms Martin-Moran thanked the Chair for the opportunity and provided the Committee with a verbal presentation, and highlighted the following:

· This development was on an allocated site in the Local Plan, and its Green Belt designation was removed in 2022.

· It was in a sustainable location within reach of services in Little Wymondley, Hitchin and Stevenage, and new residents would support facilities in the former.

· 40% affordable housing would support a wide variety of housing needs.

· A significant contribution would be made to the five-year housing land supply shortfall, and the objective of Policy WY1 in the Local Plan would be met.

· There had been extensive engagement over the last four years, and there were no outstanding objections from technical consultees on the application principles.

· The site was thoughtfully designed as there would be limited landscape impacts, and it would be subject to a final design condition.

· Three character areas influenced by design styles in Little Wymondley were proposed, and over half the site would be multifunctional open space.

· Noise from the A602 would be mitigated by an acoustic band.

· Increased traffic to nearby junctions had been agreed as acceptable by the Highways Authority and would be minimised by sustainable travel measures.

· Environmental Health had agreed that pollution levels were within tolerance.

· Pedestrian and cycle access would be provided to the site and was considered safe by the Highways Authority,

· Offsite improvements to pedestrian and cycle access along Sicut Road, Stevenage Road and to junction 8 of the A1(M) had been conditioned.

· S106 contributions included £900K to increase bus service provision, £3.87M to expand Wymondley School, and further amounts for other purposes.

· Flood risk management and discharge rates had been agreed by the LLFA.

· Land contamination management had been agreed and further surveys conditioned.

The following Members asked points of clarification:

· Councillor Clare Billing

· Councillor Jon Clayden

· Councillor Tom Tyson

· Councillor Mick Debenham

· Councillor Val Bryant

In response to points of clarification, Ms Martin-Moran advised that:

· Traffic movements were higher in 2015 when data was conducted, and the 2023 prediction was a worst-case scenario.

· Traffic data had not been used from the COVID-19 lockdown period.

· Access to Stevenage would be upgraded as this had been requested by the Highways Authority.

· New residents would contribute to demand for new facilities in Little Wymondley.

· S106 contributions were based on requests made by statutory consultees, and there would be flexibility to allocate these appropriately for facilities like a village hall.

· Priority had been given to retain vegetation at the site access.

In response to points made during the verbal presentations, the Principal Planning Officer (Major Sites) advised that:

· Financial contributions towards a village hall were referenced in the table at paragraph 5.16.4 of the report where contributions would be paid to the existing pavilion or a new community hub or hall onsite.

· Primary education contributions referenced in the same table would be spent on what the Education Authority would deem to be needed to mitigate the impact of the development and could be spent elsewhere rather than on Wymondley School.

· Paragraph 5.13 of the report detailed air quality and Condition 35 on the application detailed the Traffic Management Plan, which would address dust and other factors, and the Applicant would have to submit this to the Council in consultation with the Highways Authority for approval.

· There were an estimated 300 – 320 homes in Little Wymondley according to the 2011 census.

In response to points made during the verbal presentations, the Transport Policy and Projects Team Leader advised that:

· Traffic recorded in 2014-15 was above current levels as per Department for Transport counters, and the Applicant had used those figures with a 14.7% growth rate to produce the data. However, it was acknowledged that there had been zero or negative traffic growth in the area as confirmed by the 2023 figures and the Highways Authority was comfortable with the traffic data accuracy.

· 112 trips would come out of the development during the morning peak hour, which would increase vehicles on the A602 by less than 1%.

· Existing problems with the junction on Stevenage Road were acknowledged but the Applicant had demonstrated that the highways impact would not be severe.

· An upgrade of the A602 junction to a signalised junction might take place in the future but would not be funded by a financial contribution from this development as the Highways Authority had prioritised this towards an upgraded cycle route to Stevenage.

· A cycle route would be provided to Stevenage rather than Hitchin as it was anticipated that future residents would make more trips to the former, and it would form part of the wider Local Walking and Cycling Infrastructure Plan.

· Agreed developer financial contributions for bus services would increase provision on the number 80 bus route by 50%, which could provide half-hourly frequency at peak times, extended operating hours and a Sunday service, which would benefit existing villages and new development.

· The representation from St Ippolyts Parish Council detailed in the written update published with the supplementary documents had been misunderstood and traffic lights were proposed in the North Central Hertfordshire Growth and Transport Plan for the Stevenage Road-A602 junction rather than Blakemore End Road.

· The Highways Authority would consider and consult on the most appropriate upgrade for that junction once funding became available.

In response to points made during the verbal presentations, the Development and Conservation Manager advised that this was an allocated site in the Local Plan, and the principle of development was acceptable because of this.

Councillor Caroline McDonnel left the Council Chamber at 20:16.

Councillor Nigel Mason proposed to grant permission and this was seconded by Councillor Val Bryant.

The following Members took part in the debate:

· Councillor Tom Tyson

· Councillor Martin Prescott

The following points were made as part of the debate:

· Mitigations would be in place as the bus service would increase and the size of Wymondley School would not increase hugely.

· Despite the issues regarding unsustainability, there was not much choice except to grant permission for the application.

· Elements of this application were uncomfortable, such as doubling the size of the village but there were no legal grounds to refuse the application.

Having been proposed and seconded and, following a vote, it was:

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

A) The completion of a satisfactory legal agreement and the applicant agreeing to extend the statutory period in order to complete the agreement if required; and

B) Providing delegated powers to the Development and Conservation Manager to (i) resolve outstanding matters including financial contributions and (ii) update conditions and informatives with minor amendments as required; and

C) The conditions as set out in the report of the Development and Conservation Manager.

N.B. Following the conclusion of the item, there was a break in proceedings at 20:21 and the meeting reconvened at 20:41. During the break, Councillor Caroline McDonnell returned to the Chamber.

22/00956/OP LAND SOUTH OF, STEVENAGE ROAD, LITTLE WYMONDLEY, HERTFORDSHIRE

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