Last night the East Herts District Council development control committee agreed with their planning officers and voted to refuse the developer planning permission. The developer had tried to have the vote deferred so they could amend the design, but this was turned down.
Town Councillors Linda Radford and Andrew Stephenson ably spoke against the application, and about 20 Bengeo residents were present.
Councillor Peter Ruffles responded to a tweet from Ciaran Gold of the Hertfordshire Mercury, saying it was an entirely appropriate decision!.
There were 8 individual reasons which contributed to the rejection, which can be viewed here. This includes the harm caused to greenbelt land outweighing the benefits and the design failing to satisfactorily respond to the context of the site.
The Molewood Residents’ Association has submitted a petition of nearly 500 signatures objecting to the proposal to East Herts District Council.
We have been informed there will be a meeting at 7pm on Wednesday 20th March at Wallfields where the planning application will be discussed. This is a public meeting for any residents who wish to be involved.
A copy of the letter can be seen below:
LPA Ref: 3/12/2138/FP
Application: Daniel Oliver, Bovis Homes Ltd
Development: Erection of 58no. dwellings with associated access, open space and landscaping
Location: Land at, Bengeo Nursery, Sacombe Road, Hertford, Herts, SG14 3HG
I am writing to inform you that the above mentioned planning application will be presented to the 20 March 2013 Dev.Control Committee. The meeting will be held at 7.00pm at the The Council Chamber, Wallfields, Pegs Lane, Hertford, SG13 8EQ.
The Council operates a scheme which allows those who have written to us in relation to an application, to attend and speak at the Committee.
You can view a leaflet explaining the details of the scheme on our website using the following link http://www.eastherts.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=1551. Please ensure that if you wish to speak at the committee, you register your wish in accordance with the timescales set out in the leaflet.
Any comments you wish to make could be passed to your elected member who could make the representations for you.
Please quote the LPA Ref (Application Number) given at the top of this letter on ALL correspondence.