Planning and development in Hertford

Planning & Development in Hertford

Planning and growth in Hertford and East Herts is governed at three levels:

by national planning laws enshrined in the National Planning Policy Framework,
local planning policies defined in the East Herts District Plan,
and more detailed ward level planning policies found in Neighbourhood Plans.

One of the guiding principles of national planning law is the presumption in favour of development.

Local planning policies have to work within national planning laws to manage growth and the effects of population increase. Key issues are the environment, local economy, housing, transport, infrastructure and services. The most important and visible of these issues are housing and infrastructure.

Planning Applications

Planning applications for housing are dealt with by the District Council. If an application complies with planning policies then the council is expected to grant planning permission.

All planning applications are subject to consultation with the public and statutory consultees such as water companies, waste authorities, health services, environmental agencies and highways authorities. These bodies can raise policy issues and suggest planning conditions. Members of the public can also comment on policy matters. However the number of public objections is not a material consideration in determining planning applications. Decisions are made based on planning policy, not popularity.

Infrastructure

Infrastructure demands are dealt with by the relevant bodies such as the highways and health authorities (for example). These bodies determine how an application will impact the existing infrastructure and what improvements might be necessary, and how those improvements should be paid for and by whom. This will often involve planning conditions that oblige a developer to pay towards infrastructure improvements. Developers are not expected to include infrastructure improvements in their plans as this is for the relevant authorities to determine.

The District Plan

One of the principal roles of the District Plan and local planning policies is to allocate land for future housing in order to meet the predicted growth in population.

The current District Plan covers the period from 2011 to 2033 and identifies 4 sites for 950 homes, which are:

The former gas works in Mead Lane (200 homes)
Land to the west of Sele Farm (550 homes)
North of Bengeo (150 homes)
Mangrove Road (50 homes)

It is also anticipated that additional new homes are built in what is termed windfall development - that is to say, in addition to the allocated areas.

These new homes in Tamworth Road are an example of windfall development

The previous Local Plan of 2007 similarly identified and allocated land for 566 homes on the following sites:

Former Addis site in Ware Road (218 homes)
Riverside Yards (49 homes)
Goldings in North Road (44 homes)
Mead Lane, west of Marshgate Drive (100 homes)
Balls Park (55 homes)
Mill Road (100 homes)

The first plan for East Herts came into force on 1st November 1981, followed by a review that applied from 3rd March 1993. Limited alterations were adopted on 3rd December 1999, taking the previous plan to 2001. A second review guided development to 2011.

District Plan Review 2026

Local authorities are obliged to regularly review their local plans.

East Herts Council are preparing to create a new District Plan for East Herts. The first stage of this review is to invite landowners, agents and interested parties to volunteer sites for potential development. These sites are then subject to what is called a Strategic Land Availability Assessment. An SLAA is a technical study to identify a future supply of land that is suitable, available, and achievable for housing and economic development. In Hertford there are 18 sites that have been suggested as having potential for development, including brownfield and Green Belt land.

The government has increased the district's new housing target to a minimum of 1265 new homes a year - an increase of 50.8%.

Further planning for the future local plan includes strategy development, evidence gathering and drafting the plan. From thereon there will be two public consultations before the plan is submitted to the government for approval.

The new District Plan and policies are expected to come in to force in June 2028.

Town Planning

It is a common misconception that Hertford town centre is managed by one of the local councils. This is a myth.

There is no single body tasked with managing the growth or development of the town centre. Most of the properties in the town centre are privately owned and landlords are free to choose who their tenants are. There are no restrictions on what businesses can operate in the town, their numbers or how they operate. It is a free market economy.

However, there was a time when the district council had limited powers over what type of business could open in what premises, through what were called usage classes. These classes determined what a particular property could be used for by its occupants. The classes were:

A1 - Shops
A2 - Financial and Professional Services
A3 - Restaurants and Cafes
B1 - Business
D1 - Non-residential institutions

These classes were very generalised and arrived at by looking at the property's historical use, planning history, and physical characteristics.

If a business wanted to change how a shop was used, for instance to turn a retail shop in to a restaurant, or a cafe in to an estate agent, it had to apply for planning permission.

These powers were largely swept aside in 2020 when changes to the law abolished the retail A classes and updated most other use classes.

For more information about the 2020 changes there is a good article on the Urbanist website entitled New use class order 2020: Use Class E and the key changes explained.