Land North Of A507, West Of A10 Buntingford

1. 1.Due to its siting, the proposals would be isolated and physically severed from the rest of Buntingford by the A10, with poor quality active travel connections to services within the town. As such the proposals are likely to be car dependent and result in increased vehicle trips and pressure upon the highway network. The proposals represent an unsustainable form of development and residents and visitors would be heavily reliant on the private car to access employment, main food and comparison shopping elsewhere. The proposals fail to provide a genuine choice of alternative travel modes and would not amount to sustainable development (in accordance with the NPPF) and would result in a form of development outside of the settlement boundary that amounts to a significant conflict with the Development Strategy within the District Plan and objectives of the Buntingford Community Area Neighbourhood Plan. The proposal would be contrary to Policies DPS2 and TRA1 of the East Herts District Plan (2018), policy HD1 of the Buntingford Community Area Neighbourhood Plan and paragraphs 110 and 115 National Planning Policy Framework.
2. 2.The proposals by reason of scale, form, visual impact and siting on the west side of the A10 outside of the Buntingford Settlement Boundary, would intrude upon and have a significantly harmful urbanising impact upon the 'Cherry Green Arable Plateau' (LCA 141) character area within the East Herts District Landscape Character Assessment (2007). The development would also fail to preserve and value the Rib Valley setting of the Buntingford APPLICATION NUMBER – 3/24/0966/OUT APOUTZ Community Area by virtue of the substantial presence of built form at the elevated parts of the landscape. As such the proposals comprise a substantial urban extension outside of and adjacent to Buntingford which encroaches into the rural area beyond the Green Belt. The development would therefore result in significant harm to the rural landscape character and would fail to recognise the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside, conflicting with Policies GBR2 and DES2 of the District Plan (2018), Policies ES1 and HD2 of the Buntingford Community Neighbourhood Plan (2017) and paragraph 187(b) of the National Planning policy Framework.
3. 3.The harms and policy conflicts identified are considered to significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of the proposals in terms of delivery of new housing and other public infrastructure, having regard to NPPF paragraph 11d. As such the proposals fail to constitute sustainable development and would therefore conflict with the National Planning Policy Framework and Policies INT1, DPS2, GBR2, TRA1 and TRA2 of the District Plan (2018) and Policies BE2, ES1, HD1 and HD2 of the Buntingford Community Neighbourhood Plan (2017).
4. 4.In the absence of a completed legal agreement the application fails to secure appropriate financial contributions to infrastructure to off-set the impact of the development on local infrastructure or to provide any affordable housing, custom/self-build housing, or active travel provisions and public transport improvements. As such the proposal is contrary to policies TRA1, DPS4, DEL1, DEL2, HOU3, CFLR1, CFLR7, CFLR9 and CFLR10 of the East Herts District Plan 2018, policies of the Buntingford Community Area Neighbourhood Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework.

From the council's decision notice.

Application type

Outline Application

Scale / size

Large

Number of dwellings

600

Parish

Buntingford Town Council

Date validated

28 May 2024

Consultation expiry

4 July 2024

Last date for comments

7 November 2025

Target decision date

27 August 2024

Applicant

Private applicant

Agent address

Bridgeway House Bridgeway Stratford Upon Avon CV37 6YX

Case officer

Steve Fraser-Lim

Statutory period

91 days

Advertisement expiry

4 July 2024

Planning Portal ID

PP-12785934

Documents

687

Constraints

14