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Westmill Farmhouse Westmill Road Westmill Ware Hertfordshire SG12 0ES

3/25/2026/FULFull ApplicationRefused
Full

Refused on 24 July 2026

Council decision: Refuse3 reasons for refusal

Approximate location: the centre of the postcode, not the exact property.

Proposal

Erection of two enclosed padel courts over partial golf course, including installation of glass & wire mesh enclosures, associated hardsurfacing, eight low-level LED floodlights and compensatory grassland

Received
24 December 2025
Public comments
5
Ward
Hertford Bengeo
  1. Received24 Dec
  2. Validated22 Jan
  3. Consult.27 Feb
  4. Target19 Mar
  5. Decided24 Jul

Decided in 183 days (council typically 63)

About this application

This is a full planning application at Westmill Farmhouse Westmill Road Westmill Ware Hertfordshire SG12 0ES. East Hertfordshire has handled 7,264 applications of this type. This one was decided in 212 days, 21 weeks longer than East Hertfordshire's typical decision time. The site is in 1 listed building nearby. There are no previous applications recorded at this address. In the past year there have been 135 applications across Hertford Bengeo. We hold 1,482 applications in total for the SG12 postcode area.

80% of full applications at East Hertfordshire District Council were approved. Across all application types, the council typically decides in about 9 weeks (median).

Based on decided applications received in the last 3 years.Planning something similar? See what gets approved on your street

Why it was refused

  1. The proposed development constitutes inappropriate development in the Metropolitan Green Belt and other harm is identified in respect of loss of openness. Other considerations have not been identified that would clearly outweigh the harm by reason of inappropriateness, and the harm to openness and the countryside so as to constitute very special circumstances. The proposal would therefore be contrary to Policy GBR1 of the East Herts District Plan 2018 and the National Planning Policy Framework.
  2. The proposed development, due to its siting, would be prominent in views from the surrounding landscape which would be exacerbated by the proposed floodlighting. The added built form and siting in a sensitive location is considered to detrimentally impact the character and appearance of the area and would not be in accordance with Policies DES2, DES3, and DES4 of the EHDP 2018 and Policy HBN2 of the Bengeo Neighbourhood Plan 2019 - 2033.
  3. There is inaccurate information submitted with the application for the Local Planning Authority to ensure the proposed development would achieve the mandatory 10% net gain in biodiversity. The development would therefore fail to comply with the mandatory 10% BNG required under Schedule 7A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as inserted by Schedule 14 of the Environment Act 2021).

From the council's decision notice.

Application details

Postcode
SG12 0ES
Application type
Full Application
Scale / size
Small
Parish
Hertford Town Council

Planning application dates

Date validated
22 January 2026
Consultation expiry
26 February 2026
Last date for comments
27 February 2026
Target decision date
19 March 2026

Applicant and agent

Applicant
Private applicant
Agent address
Westgate House 37-41 Castle Street Hertford SG14 1HH

Planning decision

Case officer
.
Statutory period
56 days

Publicity

Advertisement expiry
26 February 2026

Additional information

Planning Portal ID
PP-14576247
Documents
14
Constraints
13

Site constraints

Checking the site
2/3
Council recordsAppealsFlood risk

Designations at the address point. Ones next to the site may also apply.

  • Green belt: East Hertfordshire
  • Flood zone 1: Low probability (rivers and sea)

Not published by this council, so not checked: Article 4 directions. Ask the council if these matter.

Possibly incomplete for this council: tree preservation orders.

Also checked, none recorded (21)

flood storage areas, conservation areas, listed buildings, scheduled monuments, World Heritage Sites, World Heritage Site buffer zones, registered parks and gardens, registered battlefields, Heritage at Risk entries, nutrient neutrality catchments, national parks, National Landscapes, SSSIs, Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas, Ramsar sites, ancient woodland, national nature reserves, local nature reserves, heritage coasts and brownfield registers.

A guide only, from official open data; it is not a planning search. Flood zones cover rivers and sea, not surface water.

Data © Crown copyright and others · sources and licences

Contains public sector information from planning.data.gov.uk (MHCLG and local planning authorities), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

© Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. The Historic England GIS Data contained in this material was obtained on 2026-11-03. The most publicly available up to date Historic England GIS Data can be obtained from HistoricEngland.org.uk.

© Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

© Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2026. All rights reserved. Flood Map for Planning, Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Source: East Hertfordshire

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