Decisions on whether to grant planning permission to several housing developments in North Hertfordshire are set to be made today (Thursday, July 25).
North Herts Council's planning committee will consider plans for 26 homes in Graveley, 14 homes in St Ippolyts, ten homes in Therfield and three homes in Barley.
Planning officers have recommended that each development be granted permission, despite residents objecting to each of them.
The UK currently has a significant housing shortage, and the North Herts Local Plan for 2011-31 identified a need for 11,600 new homes in the area across that period.
According to a report from Heriot-Watt University, around 340,000 new homes need to be supplied in England per year to end the housing shortage. Around 233,000 new homes were supplied in 2021/22.
Graveley - 26 homes
This application is for 26 homes to be built on land off Milksey Lane. This would include 16 homes offered at market rate, and ten affordable homes, according to the government definition of the term.
Ten of the properties would be two-bedroom, with nine three-bedroom properties, six four-bedroom properties and one one-bedroom property.
Most would be detached or semi-detached, with some maisonettes too.
The site is not in the Green Belt, and planning officers determined that "the principle of residential development" on the site is acceptable.
Eight public objections were received to the proposed development.
St Ippolyts - 14 homes
This application is for 14 homes to be built on land between Stevenage Road and Sperberry Hill, with four homes to be accessed from the former road and ten homes from the latter.
Ten homes would be offered at market rate, and four as affordable homes, according to the government definition of the term.
The market rate properties would include nine four-bedroom houses and one five-bedroom house. The affordable homes would include two two-bedroom houses, one three-bedroom house and one two-bedroom bungalow. Ten homes would have detached double garages.
Twenty objections have been received, with many concerns focusing on the increase in traffic that would be caused by the new homes.
The site was allocated for residential development in the North Herts Local Plan 2011-31.
Therfield - 10 homes
This application is for ten homes to be built on land at Police Row, near The Grange.
It includes ten properties - six three-bedroom, three four-bedroom and one five-bedroom.
No affordable housing will be included. According to the Local Plan, only developments of more than ten properties are required to include some affordable housing.
In 2015, a previous application for 26 homes on this site was refused planning permission, but since that date the site has been allocated for development in the Local Plan. The principle of development is therefore deemed "acceptable" by planning officers.
Nearly 150 objections have been received, including from Therfield Parish Council, and Hertfordshire Highways recommended that permission be refused.
Barley - 3 homes
This application is for three terraced three-bedroom homes to be built on land off Picknage Road.
Although objections have been received from members of the public and from Barley Parish Council, the site is in an area where development is deemed acceptable in principle.
The council's planning officer judges that "public benefits of the proposed development would outweigh the harm caused to the setting of the Barley Conservation Area". Recommended permission be granted.
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