Hertfordshire news: 190-home development to be built near St Albans after delay
Plans for a 190-home development on Green Belt land in Bricket Wood have been approved by councillors for a second time to allow more time for a Section 106 agreement to be completed. Section 106s are legal agreements between developers and local authorities that provide money for infrastructure and public services in the area. If an agreement is not reached within the next month, the application is set to be refused planning permission.
At a meeting of St Albans City & District Council’s development management committee on Monday (4th November), councillors voted to grant conditional permission for the development for a second time. In May, they had unanimously voted to approve the development subject to referral to the Secretary of State and a Section 106 agreement being reached.
The Secretary of State confirmed in July they would not be calling in the application, and were happy for it to be decided by the council. In a report, council officers said the draft Section 106 agreement between the developer, the district council and Hertfordshire County Council had “progressed” but had not yet been completed.
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They said there had been “some delays” and it was expected that it “could be finalised in the near future”. The agreement is set to include funding for the NHS, education, schools, support for children with special educational needs and disabilities, roads, buses, affordable housing, libraries and services for young people.
Officers also noted that, since councillors previously voted on the application, proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework have been released and St Albans has begun a Regulation 19 consultation on its draft Local Plan. Both documents have “limited weight” at this stage, councillors were told, and officers concluded that none of the changes resulting from either required a reversal of the decision to approve planning permission subject to conditions.
The development, put forward by 51 Pegasus Ltd, is known as Copeswood and would be located off Lye Lane, near the North Orbital Road. It is not on a site allocated for development within the draft Local Plan, which is a blueprint for future development in and around St Albans. The current application is for outline permission only, with full details to be ironed out at a later stage.