900 home 'extension to Stevenage' voted down by councillors

The proposed development, just south of Graveley and just north of the controversial Forster Country site, falls within the area covered by North Herts Council - not Stevenage Borough Council.

An outline planning application - which described the development as an "extension to Stevenage" - was submitted to the council earlier this year, with developer Croudace Homes also required to submit a strategic masterplan.

It was the masterplan that came before all North Herts councillors last week. Despite the council's cabinet recommending approval, councillors voted it down by 23 votes to 22.

Cllr Daniel Allen, leader of the Labour minority administration, had urged councillors to vote in favour of the masterplan "to make sure that we can get the extra homes that we so desperately need in North Hertfordshire".

Cllr Daniel Allen (centre) urged councillors to vote in favour of the masterplan. (Image: North Herts Council)

The site was identified for development in the North Herts Local Plan for 2011-2031, which allocated sites for the 11,600 new homes deemed necessary across that period.

Concerns raised by councillors included an increase in traffic, a lack of infrastructure, and issues with community engagement and sustainability.

Concerns around congestion were raised by a number of councillors. Road access to the development as planned would be via a new junction on North Road - located 100m south of the existing junction between North Road and Graveley Road - and through the current Forster Country development.

Cllr Dominic Griffiths (Lib Dem, Graveley, St Ippolyts & Wymondley) said that congestion in the are is already "awful". He said he was "really concerned" and "disappointed" about having a single loop, with one road in and one road out.

R-L: Cllrs Griffiths, Strong and Collins were among those to raise concerns about the masterplan. (Image: North Herts Council)

His concerns were shared by Cllr Claire Strong (Conservative, Offa), Cllr Sam Collins (Lib Dems, Hitchin Highbury), and Cllr Ralph Muncer (Conservative, Codicote & Kimpton).

The council's Strategic Planning Manager said that when the site was allocated for development, "it was subject to transport modelling to show the network could cope, and there'll be further transport assessments associated with the outline planning application".

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"It's not all about cars, given where it's located on the edge of Stevenage there are some really good opportunities to plug into the cycle network and facilities within the town. This masterplan has really focused on getting those connections right for walking and cycling."

But Cllr Muncer said: "We have got to take into account that the vast majority of people drive, they rely heavily on their cars ... and this is already an immensely congested piece of road.

"The developer really does need to go back to the drawing board, and we need to have a more linked up approach with the other development."

While Cllr Allen agreed with suggestions that roads in the area are "challenging", he said it "will be sorted at the planning stage".

Cllr Ruth Brown (Lib Dem, Royston Heath) added that there were "many good aspects" about the masterplan, including "desperately needed" affordable housing, the focus on community space, and the developer's work "to try and respect the surroundings and Graveley village".

But she felt the masterplan suffered from "being half a development", suggesting that there should have been a single masterplan encompassing both this development and the original Forster Country development within the area covered by Stevenage Borough Council.

She also criticised a "relative lack of community engagement", with it sometimes being "a bit token", and lack of a decision on whether Croudace will be "involved long term" or whether they will hand over to a management company.

Cllr Alistair Willoughby (Labour, Baldock West) raised concerns about the "pretty dire state" of health facilities in the area and how it would be covered in terms of the new site, while Cllr Tom Tyson (Lib Dems, Arbury) asked about retail provision.

The SPM said that health has been "identified as one potential use" for the 2,000 square metres of community facilities planned for the site, though a decision will "ultimately" be taken by Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board.

He added that while the Local Plan "identified that there should be some retail provision on the site", this had changed in light of post-pandemic evidence that "it wouldn't be viable to provide retail" on the site. Retail facilities will be included in the part of the Forster Country development that falls within Stevenage Borough Council's boundaries.

Cllr Tyson suggested that the "lack of facilities provided ... doesn't really cut the mustard", while Cllr Dave Winstanley (Labour, Hitchin Bearton) raised concerns about sustainability: "We should be striving for the highest levels of sustainability within these sites ... and then rowing back only where absolutely necessary, rather than accepting a lower level at the outset."

After being voted down, the masterplan will now go back to project board for discussion with the developer, who can then make changes before returning it to Cabinet and full council.

Cllr Collins described it as "a really good outcome ... we shouldn't be letting through bad planning just because there's other stuff coming down the line, we should be making sure".