10 Nov 2026
A smorgasbord of suggestions for future development across the district have been submitted as part of SADC’s call for sites – including huge housing schemes for Green Belt land.
The call for sites exercise is an opportunity for individuals, landowners and developers to suggest for development over the next 15-20 years ahead of the next Local Plan.
The only requirements were that they should be capable of delivering five or more dwellings, or economic development on sites of 0.25 hectares or more (or 500 square metres of floor space or more.
The exercise will not determine whether a site should be identified for development or other uses, and they will be assessed through further technical work to determine their sustainability, suitability and deliverability. The sites considered most appropriate will then be subject to further public consultation.
Some of the more unusual proposals put forward by individuals include housing on Batchwood Golf Course and Salisbury Avenue Tennis Club, but there are also many other sites which companies are earmarking for development at this early stage, including a bid by Lightwood Strategic to build on 76 acres at Sandridgebury Farm and Pound Farm, which would link up with the residential extension to north St Albans included in the current Local Plan.
Tarmac is proposing mixed-use developments at two sites in Tyttenhanger and Colney Heath which might include commercial facilities, whether that is industrial, logistics or storage, and uses such as petrol filling/EV charging station, roadside restaurants targeted at drivers, a hotel, and associated car and lorry parking.
They are also mooting building a community or leisure facility for the benefit of local residents and a renewable energy development on land south of Codicote Road in Wheathampstead.
The St Albans Diocese’s finance board has suggested residential developments on land to the south-west of London Colney allotments, on the site of Holy Trinity vicarage in Frogmore, and to the north of Marford Road in Wheathampstead.
CALA Homes is eyeing up land at Tippendell Lane whereas Burhill Group Ltd is proposing up to 650 homes on Aldwickbury Golf Club, a scheme previously announced in 2021 which was subsequently rejected.
Convene Construction, the company which took over Butterfly World in Chiswell Green following the closure of the tourist attraction, is now proposing developing the site for commercial use and/or housing.
A site of almost 20 acres adjacent to Birklands Park, between London Road and the North Orbital Road, has been put forward by Catesby Estates for either 300 homes or other uses including a care home and gym, while around 150 homes are mooted by Longbourn Estates for land north of Sandridge and east of the B651.
Local campaign group Save Our Sandridge responded to that proposal: “SOS has long feared that more of the Green Belt surrounding our village would be put forward for development. We raised concerns about the cumulative impact when objecting to both Shottfield and the Green Man applications, and now we are beginning to see the potential scale of what Sandridge could face.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the extent of the land being promoted through the 2026 call for sites process. The prospect of another 150 homes behind Langley Grove, alongside proposals for Woodcock Hill and the much larger Sandridgebury Farm site, raises serious questions about the future of our village.
“These are not yet planning applications, but the cumulative impact of potential development on our roads, infrastructure, countryside and village identity cannot be ignored.
“Sandridge is a small village, not an endless opportunity for development. We urge the council to look at the bigger picture and properly consider the combined impact of these sites, rather than treating each one in isolation.
“The future of Sandridge is at stake, and we will continue to stand up for our village.”
But it isn’t all a case of concreting over our countryside. Highfield Park Trust wants to create a ‘green lung’ which will buffer St Albans from expected development to the south by expanding the existing park.
Chairman Tim Abbott said: “The park is perfectly situated to buffer St Albans from the development risk to the south. In 2023, in response to the Local Plan consultation, we provided a bold vision of what an enlarged Highfield Park could look like in 2075. We have reaffirmed those ideas in the new consultation.
“The land is predominantly owned by Hertfordshire County Council and the ideas we are currently exploring will build on the Watling Chase Community Forest Plan, which was published in 1995.
“We are at a very early stage, but the ideas are exciting and will identify options to create spaces for people to enjoy recreational activities and for nature to recover.”
SADC Lib Dem leader Cllr Paul de Kort is keen to stress that just because locations have been put forwards doesn’t mean they will be included in the future Local Plan.
“Many sites put forward in this latest process were put forward in the previous one. This is not surprising as, even with the over-15,000 hones allocated in the 2026 Local Plan, more than three-quarters of those put forward did not meet our sustainable development criteria to the same extent as those finally selected did.
“As the last call for sites was quite a few years ago, the circumstances of the landowners may well have changed, leading them to put forward sites that they previously chose not to. In addition there are some sites being put forward for development as local energy generation; the economics and planning regulation that drive this interest will be quite different from that in place on the last occasion a call for sites was made.
“It is also important to recognise that landowners and developers can withdraw a site at any time in the process. For example, Thames Water withdrew a site in Harpenden for new homes, after the Regulation 18 Consultation. That site is now being used to expand and upgrade the sewage treatment site. Clearly we Liberal Democrats applaud this alternative use and the investment being made to finally help clean up the River Lea.
“Regarding the Batchwood Golf Course site, this was not even considered as an option by the owner, St Albans district council, in either the previous call for sites or this one. This is because of strong covenants that govern any developments on the Batchwood Estate. It appears the site was put forward by an individual rather than a landowner, which is a feature of the Government-mandated call for sites process.”
Leader of SADC Labour group, Cllr Mike Hobday, responded: “St Albans urgently needs more homes, as too many local people and young families struggle to find affordable places to buy or rent. However, the council has established a concerning precedent. In the new Local Plan agreed in September, two thirds of the new homes were allocated on Green Belt land.
“Now, as we look at the submitted proposed development sites for the next Local Plan, doing more of the same is simply not acceptable. We cannot keep taking the easy path of swallowing up green fields across communities like Sandridge, Chiswell Green, Colney Heath, Redbourn, London Colney and Harpenden.
“For the next plan, Labour councillors want to see a genuine brownfield-first strategy and a new and ambitious balance between building up and building out. In line with national policy, the council must exhaust urban regeneration and grey belt opportunities before taking high-value Green Belt spaces.”
Conservative leader Cllr Matt Cowley added: “The Local Plan process is a long one and our Conservative team will scrutinise it at every stage. One of my early impressions is that once again it appears that the Lib Dems have failed to unlock any substantial brownfield sites. That means they will be coming for our Green Belt once again.
“Rather than seek a strong, cross-party representation on the Government’s high housing targets, their decision to make the issue party political meant that some of the other parties on the council didn’t support their motion. That, and the obvious politicisation in the motion, will make the Government take their representations much less seriously.
“And we see this hypocrisy from the Lib Dems repeatedly. Less than a week after describing a plan for thousands of houses near London Colney and Colney Heath as ‘outrageous’, the Lib Dems at the county council have made a bid for (likely) thousands more houses near London Colney and Colney Heath with their proposed site at Tyttenhanger.
“Residents in our district deserve better than development policies built around soundbites that look good in a Lib Dem leaflet; they deserve development that looks good in the district we represent.”
