16 May 2024
Residents of Chiswell Green have been warned they are sleep-walking to environmental disaster if they don’t fight two proposed housing developments in the village.
The Secretary of State recently approved appeals by Cala Homes and Headlands Way (the Polo Field) to build 721 new homes on Green Belt land, and the development will see the two mini roundabouts on Watford Road replaced with highly complicated 6-phase traffic lights.
Action group Keep Chiswell Green (KCG) told a public meeting on Sunday that as well as the huge increase in the number of cars using the area, traffic will be forced to stop for considerable periods of time at the junctions with Chiswell Green Lane and Tippendell Lane, increasing air pollution beyond already dangerous levels
Readings provided by Imperial College in London reveal that air pollution in the centre of the village is already on the 81st percentile, meaning only 19 percent of locations in the UK have worse air quality – including all of central London and notoriously polluted locations such as Spaghetti Junction in Birmingham.
KCG’s Shirani St Ledger McCarthy said: “Air pollution along the route our children are walking to school is critically high. Our kids are breathing in levels of toxins every day that are already having a negative impact on their health.
“When the Green Belt was designated, it wasn’t done with climate change specifically in mind, but it is clear now that its most important role is to protect us from rising temperatures, increased flooding and toxic air quality. We must all work together to stop this nightmare scenario from unfolding.”
KCG has lodged a judicial review to challenge the Cala and Polo decisions and is asking for donations to fund the legal fees, as well as planning many fundraising activities. A second public meeting is being held tonight (Thursday) at 8pm at Greenwood Park Community Centre.
Shirani added: ‘The environmental impact of other speculative developments in our district, as well as the 15,000 new houses proposed in the draft Local Plan, will be catastrophic for the health, quality of life and mental wellbeing of all St Albans residents.’
For more information: keepchiswellgreen.org
