Hertfordshire & North Middlesex Area of the Ramblers' Association
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Local development frameworks
October 2009
The Local Development Framework process replaces Councils Local Plans. It is intended to improve on the Local Plans by consulting widely to enable local people to give their views and have their say as to the shape of development in the area live in over the coming years.
All ten Hertfordshire Councils are involved in this process. The process covers all aspects of Local Governments. Our interest is where houses allocated to each Council under the East of England Plan will be affecting the beauty and tranquillity of the countryside and the footpaths/Rights of Way network and to contribute to ensuring the best outcome for the local community and walkers.
The Process
The Guide about LDFs from the Planning Portal provides information about the process:
- General pages about the LDF process from the Planning Portal provide information about the procedures and processes and some of the key documents required are shown.
- Statement of Community Involvement: Councils must produce a statement setting out how and when the community will be consulted about the proposals.
These are the main documents involved in the process.
CORE STRATEGY sets out the spatial aspects and long term spatial vision. This is the main document from which all documents below stem from.
- The Council start by considering the issues and options informally with the public.
- From this they produce a draft Core Strategy with the Preferred Options set out for public consultation and the public are invited to comment.
- Following consultation the final Core Strategy document is published and there is opportunity for the public to comment on this during the period of consultation, normally about six weeks. Anyone wishing to comment should do so at this stage and before the final document is submitted to the secretary of State for consideration. If they do not comment at this stage, they will not be invited to comment to the Secretary of State if they apply to at the time he is considering the final document.
- The Secretary of State considers the final Core Strategy document and seeks the views from any members of the public who commented on the Core Strategy document but who are still not satisfied their concerns have been met.
STRATEGIC SITE ALLOCATION. This may arise from the Core Options consultation or from existing local plan documents.
AREA ACTION PLANS is a development plan document focussed upon a specific location subject to conservation or significant change. They are subject to independent examination.
SUPPLEMENTARY PLANNING DOCUMENTS expand or add detail to policies laid out in development plan documents, or a saved policy in an existing development plan. These may take the form of design guides, area development briefs, a master plan or issue based documents.
GUIDANCE for members of the public wishing to participate in the Examination of Development Plan Documents (DPD's) and Statements of Community Involvement is also available at the Planning Portal noted above.
REGIONAL SPATIAL STRATEGY AND HOUSING PROPOSED FOR EACH OF HERTFORDSHIRE'S TEN COUNCILS
Also known as the East of England Plan, the RSS requires Councils to facilitate the building of an enormous number of houses in their administrative areas. The numbers of houses approved for each Council are as follows:-
Broxbourne 3,650 houses, Dacorum 10,140, East Herts 9,860, Harlow 15,010 split between East Herts and Essex, Hertsmere 3,920, North Herts 4,300, St Albans 5,370, Stevenage 14,430 and Three Rivers 2,990 houses
Councils have to determine just where all these houses will go and to consult the public producing a Core Strategy which eventually will be submitted to the Secretary of State as set out above, through the Local Development Framework process. A significant amount of development will be in green belt and green field land in open countryside merging some existing settlements in to one as green belt is built on.
Hertfordshire council's progress with the preparation of the local development frameworks
When phoning the Council Planning Departments, ask for the Planning Policy section who deal with Local Development Frameworks who will be able to help you. Click on their name to visit their website.
Broxbourne 01992 785559
The Draft Core Strategy Preferred Options consultation ended in February 2009.
Dacorum 01442 228000
The Draft Core Strategy consultation has ended but the Local Development Framework process is currently on hold following the High Court ruling that the Governments policy relating to proposed development at Hemel Hempstead, Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield is flawed and must be quashed and reconsidered.
East Herts Tel. 01279 655261
It is currently anticipated that an Issues and Options document will be available for public consultation in Spring 2010 followed by a Preferred Options consultation in Spring 2011.
Hertsmere 020 8207 7583
The Core Strategy was submitted to the Secretary of State in December 2008. Currently on hold whilst more evidence based work is being carried out by Hertsmere.
North Herts 01462 474847
The draft Core Startegy will be out for consultation in January/February 2010 although may be put back to Autumn 2010. The consultation for SNAP ( Stevenage and North herts Action Plan) is due to commence in February/March 2010.
St Albans 01727 866100
The Emerging Core Strategy consultation stage undertaken during the summer/autumn of 2009 has now finished.The Core Strategy preferred option is due to be published in February 2010.This will be the final opportunity to comment.
Stevenage 01438 242242
The Core Strategy for Stevenage will be published in January 2010. This is the final opportunity to comment before it is submitted to the Secretary of State. See North Herts for information on SNAP (Stevenage and N Herts Action Plan)
Three Rivers 01923 776611
The draft Core Strategy Preferred Options consultation ended in March 2009.
Watford 01923 226400
Publication and consultation on the Core Strategy will be next year in the spring which will be the final opportunity to comment.
Welwyn Hatfield 01707 357000
The Core Strategy Issues and Options consultation was completed in the summer 2009.The Local Development Framework process is currently on hold following the High Court ruling that the Governments policy relating to proposed development at Hemel Hempstead, Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield is flawed and must be quashed and reconsidered.
London Bouroughs' progress with the preparation of the local development frameworks
London Borough of Barnet 020 8359 4990
The Preferred Options stage in the Core Strategy now follows on from earlier work and is due to commence in November 2009.
London Borough of Enfield 020 8379 3490
Area Action Plans and work on Strategic Growth Areas have been undertaken and these feed in to the final Core Strategy consultation which is due to commence in the end of November 2009.
London Borough of Haringey 020 8489 4269
The Core Strategy consultation was completed during the summer of 2009.
GUIDANCE IN RESPONDING TO THE CONSULTATION PROCESS.
For guidance in responding to the consultation process in regard to the Rights of Way affected, please contact the local Councils above which you are interested in.
Volunteers
Because the LDF process is local by nature, the RA requires volunteers to be able to feed in comments during the consultation process
Currently we have volunteers through existing footpaths secretaries dealing with the following Councils. St Albans, Hertsmere, Stevenage and N Herts and Three Rivers. Other footpath secretaries may be receiving planning consultation documents when released as they do for planning applications. So, other Councils may not yet be covered by representative of the RA.
The Open Spaces Society have provided guidance so that footpaths are 
protected before Planning Applications come in are put in, after completion of the Frameworks. Their advice - Information Sheet C17: "Local Development Frameworks, How to Protect the Publics Rights" can be ordered from their website.
But it is necessary to get your views in now before the Frameworks are completed and during the consultation process, as to how the footpaths shall be configured through the development. For example, if nothing is stated at this consultation stage, the paths may just end up as little more than alleyways through a housing estate. There is opportunity to present alternative suggestions such as the following:
- the footpath network to be improved, developed, enhanced . One can argue later what those words actually mean but it is good to have them there
- that non-vehicular routes must be an essential part of the development of a coherent community after the development/houses are built, perhaps emphasising that many, even most, of the existing routes can be incorporated at the planning stage
- that measures preserving the attractiveness of existing rights of way should try to be achieved. Preserving them within corridors, would often lose that specialness
- old routes should be preserved, or new ones created. Small streams can give a good focus if the swathe is wide enough (and save the developer money from not having to culvert). Green Lanes would
probably be a prime candidates for special preservation. See good advice on Natural England about Greenways.
They can be quite appropriate because of their spaciousness and all-weatherness near or linking new settlements. Greenways have a good and environment-friendly flavour, and can be a useful, and fairly easy concept to promote.
Hoddesdon Wood
Woodland Trust
