18 Aug 2023
Up to 40 new homes in the heart of the Green Belt will be built on heavily contaminated land, councillors have been warned.
Anderson Design and Build Ltd have been awarded conditional planning permission to construct up to 40 dwellings – including three self-build homes – with car and cycle parking, landscaping and associated works on land north of Boissy Close, Colney Heath Lane.
But the soil on the site is heavily contaminated with spent calcium carbide, which is considered toxic to animals and plants.
Mark Taylor, on behalf of campaigners Boissy Park Action Group, said: “Over 70 households have voiced concern and raised objections to this proposed development.
“This is in addition to objections from Colney Heath Parish Council, CPRE, Herts Wildlife, the Ramblers Association and St Albans Civic Society.
“Fundamental question marks remain over the extent of contamination and the extent of remediation despite invasive tests being undertaken.
“Residents rightly remain anxious, a toxic cocktail of heavy metals, hydrocarbons and asbestos have already been discovered with further testing recommended by the Contamination Office for gas monitoring potential gas migration from the neighbouring Smallford Pit.
“The site is also classified as Green Belt and there are no very special circumstances clearly shown and required for the development to be approved.
“We have concerns that traffic surveys have not reflected the acute congestion and risk on Colney Heath Lane during school drop off and pick-ups. Colney Heath Lane is a rural road that this not suited for more cars, let alone construction vehicles – especially considering Hill End Lane has a weight restricted bridge.
“There would also be a loss of openness and increased sprawl and merging of settlements and a lack of supporting infrastructure.
“I understand the projected housing shortages present serious challenges for the district, but sites need to be considered on merit, in the right locations with the right infrastructure.”
The scheme was called in by Cllrs Chris Brazier, Liz Needham and Sharon Hollingsworth because of the scale and mass of the proposed development, the large impact it will have on the Green Belt, and the harmful effect it will have on the street scene being adjacent to the park. The loss of a green space used by many residents living close by and the harmful impact on the Alban Way were also cited.
But councillors on the planning (development management) committee voted 6-3 in favour of the scheme at a meeting on Monday.
As part of the conditions, they stated no development shall take place until an investigation and risk assessment in relation to ground gas contamination on site has been submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority.
The assessment will investigate the nature and extent of ground gas across the site and a written report of these findings will be submitted to the local planning authority for approval before any development takes place.
Cllr Brazier told the St Albans Times: “I wasn’t happy with the decision to approve the application with a unknown level of land contamination. I was also wanted removal of the pavement in Boissy Park to be stopped because of pedestrian safety. I put forward a motion to refuse the application so these matters could be sorted before housing is agreed. I was out-voted on the night, “Officers said my concerns can be covered by conditions to the granting of the application.”
Cllr Anthony Rowlands, who represents Hill End Ward where Boissy Close is located, said after the meeting: “It is regrettable that the application to develop the site was passed. This is a significant area of Green Belt with wholly inadequate highway access and a long history of contamination.
“The committee were not helped by an extraordinary change of recommendation by Hertfordshire County Council as highway authority. They failed to follow their own policy which says that not more than 25 dwellings should be serviced by a shared surface road.
“They have permitted 40. Users of the designated route through the development site, including students from Nicholas Breakspear School, will have to contest highway space with road traffic. It beggars belief that the county council thinks this is acceptable.
“Residents of Boissy Close will also lose parking spaces in front of their properties without any enforceable guarantee of alternative provision.
“There is also understandable alarm that the applicant has still not been able to provide proof regarding gas emissions and calcium carbide contamination. Yet, we have now given conditional approval and vested the final say with officers rather than councillors.”
Colney Heath Parish Council also raised concerns about the contaminated land: “The applicant’s statement that the surplus soil could used on site to form a bank along the eastern edge clearly carries very significant risks to both the wider environment and residents and particularly children.
“The removal and disposal might be possible, however in the application this was not considered nor has a safety assessment been completed to see if it could be
undertaken in close proximity to houses and gardens…
“Currently there is no evidence of environment harm caused by the spent calcium carbide buried on site, while leaving buried might not be ideal, its probably the safest option currently. The risks and impacts from its removal far outweigh any benefits the development might bring,”
CHPC also highlighted the lack of very special circumstances for building on the Green Belt, access to the site and the wider impacts on traffic in Colney Heath Lane, and heavily oversubscribed primary and secondary schools in the area.
The Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) Herts warned: ” The application demonstrates a clear encroachment into open countryside on the edge of the built-up area with significant impact on its openness and character in this location. It constitutes an inappropriate urban extension which the Green Belt designation exists to prevent.”
