Hertfordshire & North Middlesex Area of the Ramblers' Association
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Local development frameworks
September 2008
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 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 footpaths/rights of way network and to contribute to ensuring the best outcome for the local community and walkers.
The Process
The following General pages about LDFs from the Planning Portal provide information about the process:
- General pages
- Interactive guide: a folder of local development documents that outlines how planning will be managed in your area
East of England Plan
Known as the Regional Spatial Strategy which is of most concern require Councils to facilitate the building of an enormous number of houses in their administrative areas. The numbers of houses approved for each Council is as follows:
Broxbourne 3650 houses, Dacorum 10,140, East Herts 9860, Harlow 15,010 split between East Herts and Essex, Hertsmere 3920, North Herts 4300, St Albans 5370, Stevenage 14,430 and Three Rivers 2990 houses.
Councils have to determine just where all these houses will go and their progress as at September 2008 and their contact details are provided below. Inevitably, some building will have to be on Green Belt and greenfield open countryside.
Hertfordshire Councils Progress and Contact Details
If you phone them, ask for Planning Policy dealing with Local Development Frameworks, they are very helpful! Click on their name to visit their website.
Broxbourne 01992 785559
Informal consultations are going out for the Core Strategy document in September and the Site Specific document in October.
Dacorum 01442 228000
Core Strategy Issues and Options starting next April. Site Allocation Document starting November. Carrying out Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessments(SHLAA) - looking at brown and green field land, and Strategic Housing Market Assessments (SHMA)
East Herts Tel. 01279 655261
Aiming to have the Issues and Options Stage started by late this year/early next year. Aiming for mid to end 2009 to complete.
Hertsmere 020 8207 7583
The Core Strategy is being submitted to the Secretary of State in November and at the same time there will be public consultation on the document which if any procedure has not been properly followed or there needs to be changes on the technical as opposed to the aspirational aspects, these changes will be written in at the same time and the Secretary of State will then make their recommendation whether or not to confirm it.
The Site Allocations document is to be put out for public consultation at the end of the year.
North Herts 01462 474847
The Core Strategy has been delayed until January next year when it goes out to consultation. A water , sewage, and transport study are being carried out in partnership with Stevenage because of the hugh development proposed west of Stevenage in North Herts.
The only difference seems to be there is no Planning Gain coming to North Herts, only Stevenage 's town centre. See Stevenage below for details
St Albans 01727 866100
A project planning process is due to be approved at committee later this year, October.
Stevenage 01438 242242
The Core Strategy has been delayed until next year whilst the planners carry out a water strategy and a transport strategy for houses proposed for west of Stevenage. Persimmon Homes, the developers have slowed down their activities because of the downturn in the economy. They are required to come up with a proposal for improvements to Stevenage Town Centre as a part of a Planning Gain to come from the House Building It is intended the town centre development will be paid for by Persimmon Homes.
There is also the issue of the land needed for the houses being sold to the developer. Land prices are high when grain prices are high, so increased costs for the developer to buy the land may become an issue. Only then will the Core Strategies of both North Herts DC and Stevenage Borough (SNAP) be able to continue.
Three Rivers 01923 776611
Consultations for the Core Strategy go out in October. Final submission stage not yet known.
Watford 01923 226400
Core Strategy with preferred principles due October. Final submission sometime 2009
Welwyn Hatfield 01707 357000
Core Strategy Issues and Options Stage goes out to public consultation in January or thereabouts. Other dates not yet known.
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.
Guidance in Responding to the Consultation Process
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
