Retirement village plans turned down

Plans for a retirement village in Hertingfordbury have been turned down for a second time after the council deemed it inappropriate development in the green belt.

Hertfordfordbury Land Ltd were seeking outline planning permission for a 208-home complex with community and medical facilities, external landscaping and green infrastructure.

A similar planning application was previously refused in the same grounds in 2020. The company initially appealled the decision but withdrew the appeal shortly after submitting a revised application.

The proposals drew 80 public comments - 3 in support and 77 objections.

Both Hertford Town Council and Hertford Civic Society strongly objected to the plans, with the parish council saying: "the proposed development is wholly inappropriate for this Green Belt land, in the heart of a small village with a limited transport network.".

Villagers were vehement in their opposition to the plans, describing the proposals as "flawed", "wholly unsuitable" and "disproportionate".

Hertingfordbury Village falls under the 'Group 2 village' category whereby only limited infill development is allowed.

Multiple applications for a similar retirement community at nearby Brickfields have also been refused.

The outline application for this site appears to be as a consequence of the Council’s repeated refusal of applications for a similar development by the same applicant on the nearby Brickfields site. It is notable that the residential property designs for this site are identical to those for Brickfields, that large parts of the Design and Access Statement have been taken from that for the earlier proposals and that the very special circumstances put forward to justify the development in the Green Belt are essentially the same.

CPRE Herts

The council's planning officer refused the planning applicaton on six grounds:

1. Inappropriate development in the Green Belt, harm to the openness of the Green Belt, encroachment into the countryside and enclosing the green buffer between Hertford and Hertingfordbury and the proposal would conflict with the purpose of the Green Belt
2. The proposal would be located within the open green space, within a village setting. The proposal due to its size, scale and massing within this would erode the landscape of the village settlement which would harm the rural setting of the area.
3. The site is within a Group 2 village setting with limited access to facilities. The occupiers and visitors would be reliant on motor vehicles and carry out day to day activities. 
4. Additional potential harm, such as: Traffic generation and impact on highway safety and amenity; Impact on archaeological heritage; Loss of Equine Development; Ecology Adverse impact on the residential amenities of the existing occupiers of Hertingfordbury Village by reason of traffic generation and associated noise, disturbance and inconvenience.
5. Failure to provide affordable housing.
6. The harmful impact upon the setting of the listed buildings and Hertingfordbury Conservation Area