We have already faced the many issues surrounding the proposed Local Plan from Dacorum Borough Council, which is now under review since the consultation last year.
Now Dacorum is under a new threat to, not just environmental destruction, but also independent applications from developers with plans to add huge estates that place pressure on already strained local services.
The most recent is from Fairfax developers, who have run a long term campaign to smooth the way for a development in the Gade Valley, which would pressurise Gadebridge shop centre, increase traffic, and endanger the delicate wildlife that relies on access to open green spaces. The promise of affordable homes would be beyond the pockets of our children, with new homes being more attractive to those in London.
We responded to their planning application, which was submitted just before Christmas to avoid the attention of Gadebridge and Piccotts End Residents:
On behalf of Dacorum Green Party, I am presenting the parties views and to object to this development on very simple grounds .
The development itself presents a real and present danger to the delicate balance of wildlife in the Gade Valley, both to flora and fauna in the surrounding area, and to the delicate water courses over the River Gade and the chalk stream network that it is part of. The plan fragments existing ecosystems that are delicate and could not be easily replicated. A like for like development of another ecosite is unlikely to be successful without long term management and investment.
Public footpaths that currently run through the site would cease to have the recreational value it has, as it would be absorbed into the development.
The Dacorum Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council have both made a Climate Emergency Declaration as central to their policy and planning criteria. This development contravenes this position. The 2003 assessment of the High Gade Valley (area 123) states that the area should be conserved, and the natural environment developed to strengthen the diversity of wildlife. There is no part of this plan that recognises this recommendation.
Permitting the site would weaken any future Local Plan in its effectiveness as it would set a dangerous precedent. To approve this plan would display a level of political hypocrisy that Dacorum has so far never seen.
The development sits by itself with very little opportunity for connecting with the rest of Gadebridge as the only pathways are currently through protected woodland or immediately adjacent to a recognised nature site that has been awarded a high-grade status by the CPRE. Even if pathways were restricted through this route, it would still have increased footfall, more potential for dog mess, and increased litter. If the pathways and access were developed, the delicate ecosystems could not survive being next to a paved area, let alone one that has electrical lighting for safety.
As this development has no services included, it would have to rely solely on the local amenities within Gadebridge, Grovehill or Highfield. This would increase the pressure on road traffic and put immediate pressure on local schools. The suggested contribution to refurbish current amenities is a very obvious cheap inducement that does not outweigh the already overloaded parking facilities that it serves. The suggested roundabout access the Leighton Buzzard road would create extra traffic impedance and increased accident risk due to its position.
This plan sits firmly within the Green Belt, and as the current political will has reduced the number of new dwellings that need to be built, this site should be dismissed as a protected greenfield area, with focus on brownfield within Dacorum.
Observations and comments by Consultees have consistently missed the holistic effects on not just the site itself, but the surrounding area and the potential risks from future effects that the Local Plan was trying to set in place.
Submitted by Sherief Hassan on behalf of the Dacorum Green Party. Sherief is the Green Party candidate for Boxmoor in the upcoming Dacorum Borough Council By-Election on 3rd February 2022
