Land bound by Bulbourne Road and Station Road, bisected by Marshcroft Lane, Tring, Hertfordshire, HP23 5QY

Hybrid application (with access details of two main access points from Bulbourne Road and Station Road in Full and the main development on the rest of the site in Outline with all matters reserved) for the demolition of all existing buildings on the site and the development of up to 1,400 dwellings (including up to 140 Use Class C2 dwellings); a new local centre and sports/community hub; primary school; secondary school; and public open spaces including creation of a SANG.’ Summary of Recommendation: That the appeal is allowed, and planning permission be granted. 1

Authority: Dacorum Borough Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Inquiry
Development: residential · Major dwellings
Inspector: Whitehead M

What decided it

The Secretary of State concluded that very special circumstances did not exist because the harm to the Green Belt, together with the other identified harms, was not clearly outweighed by the benefits of the scheme.

the substantial benefits of housing, affordable housing, self-build, extra care housing and socio-economic benefits did not clearly outweigh the substantial Green Belt harm together with great weight AONB setting harm, heritage harm and significant agricultural land loss, so the balance tipped against the proposal

Framework references: 11, 56, 57, 74, 77, 111, 115, 138, 143, 147, 148, 152, 153, 174, 176, 180, 182, 202, 208

Plan policies cited: CS1, CS5, CS8, CS18, CS19, CS24, CS25, CS27, CS31, DLP Policy 97, DLP Policy 106, DLP Policy 108

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.

What an account adds

Draw a red line around your site and the appraisal follows.

Heritage. Listed buildings by grade and distance, conservation areas, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, heritage at risk.
Landscape and environment. Green belt, national parks and national landscapes, SSSIs, ancient woodland, SPA, SAC and Ramsar sites, nutrient catchments.
Flooding. Flood zones 2 and 3, surface water, and both again with climate change.
Transport. The 800 metre station catchment and service frequency, bus stops with their weekday frequency, the cycle network, and the Framework’s transport tests measured for the site.

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