27 Highfield Road Sandridge Hertfordshire AL4 9BX

5/2025/2361FullRefused

Refused on 14 May 2026

Council decision: DC4 Refusal1 reason for refusal

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

Proposal

Proposed roof and loft extensions with ground floor extensions and alterations including amendment to drive. at 27 Highfield Road Sandridge Hertfordshire AL4 9BX

Submitted: 29 December 2025
Council: St Albans City and District Council
Ward: Sandridge & Wheathampstead
Agent: Divine Design

ReceivedSubmitted29 Dec
ValidatedValidated
Consult.Consultation
TargetTarget Date
DecidedDecided14 May

Decided in 136 days (council typically 56)

About this application

This is a full planning application for an extension at 27 Highfield Road Sandridge Hertfordshire AL4 9BX. St Albans has handled 3,966 applications of this type. This one was decided in 136 days, 11 weeks longer than St Albans's typical decision time. There have been 5 other applications at this address. In the past year there have been 108 applications across Sandridge & Wheathampstead. We hold 2,081 applications in total for the AL4 postcode area.

86% of full applications at St Albans City and District Council were approved. Across all application types, the council typically decides in about 8 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

The application site is located in the Metropolitan Green Belt wherein there is strict control over the extension and alteration of dwellinghouses. The enlarged dwelling would result in a disproportionate addition over or above the size of the original building, and is considered to be inappropriate development which is by definition harmful. No very special circumstances have been demonstrated to outweigh the harm to the Green Belt by reason of inappropriateness and any other harm. The proposal is contrary to the aims of Policy 1 (Metropolitan Green Belt) and 13 (Extensions or Replacement of Dwellings in the Green Belt) of the St. Albans District Local Plan Review 1994 and the guidance set out in the National Planning Policy Framework 2024. The proposal also fails to comply with Strategic Policy SP3 (Land and the Green Belt) and Policy LG5 (Green Belt) and Policy LG9 (Extension or Replacement of Buildings in the Green Belt) of the emerging St Albans Draft Local Plan 2041 (Main Modifications Version).

From the council's decision notice.

Application details

Postcode: AL4 9BX
Application type: Full
Scale / size: Small

Planning application dates

Consultation expiry: 13 February 2026

Applicant and agent

Applicant: Private applicant
Agent: Divine Design

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: St Albans
Flood zone 1: Low probability (rivers and sea)

Also checked, none recorded (23)

flood storage areas, conservation areas, listed buildings, Article 4 directions, tree preservation orders, 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.

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.

Planning history at this site

5 other applications at this property, newest first.

Source: St Albans

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