Overview: Commissioned to review a Stage 3 appraisal of the Green Belt within the Welwyn Hatfield Borough area, in relation to certain parcels of land, Open Spaces identified a range of criteria which could have resulted in different conclusions, including errors in mapping, a lack of granular assessment of potential developable land, and as strong degree of subjective judgement.
Open Spaces determined in the case of ‘Land Parcel A’, the inclusion of the land within a larger parcel was not sufficiently granular to meet our understanding of what was sought by the Inspector. Further, that the report the Council commissioned was only concerned with Green Belt testing, but did not point towards deliverability. In assessing the land parcel within a larger one, the considerations and results for the proposed development land were flawed. In referencing a range of detailed point by point analysis, our GBA report concluded that the allocation of the parcel in question could result in a level of harm which, when weighted against the compelling housing need, should be acceptable in planning terms.
Open Spaces continues to monitor the progress of representations by the promotor.
