Are councillors doing enough to protect a much-loved wildlife site from development? Bedmond Meadow, which borders the whole of the western edge of the Verulam Estate, has been described by Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust as “a de-facto Local Wildlife Site”, which is unique in St Albans and of significant ecological...
A bid to permanently fence off a piece of previously open green space on the Verulam Estate has gone to appeal after SADC rejected the proposal. A retrospective application was submitted for the site, where Windridge Close meets Westfields last year, prompting more than 100 objections from residents. Vast swathes of what...
Housebuilder Cala Homes has snapped up another potential development site, adding to their portfolio of land across the district. The new acquisition from the Sewell Trust is land in north St Albans behind Harpenden Road, and will be their fourth local development site. Cala, which is the “build to sell” real estate...
Two controversial Green Belt developments in Chiswell Green have been approved by Housing Minister Felicity Buchan. Developers want to stick housing on Green Belt land at St Stephen’s Farm and south of Chiswell Green Lane, with up to 1,800 new residents predicted. It is feared the developments will result in years of...
A proposed meeting between rail freight developers Segro and local residents has been pushed back until at least late spring or even early summer. When St Albans MP Daisy Cooper met with the company in November, she said they agreed to hold a community meeting to share information about their work...
Campaigners challenging a proposed rail freight terminal on the former Radlett airfield in Park Street have been told their case will be heard in the Royal Courts of Justice on June 11. If the court rules that Herts county council did not follow the correct legal process when selling the land...
Green Belt campaigners have dismissed suggestions that St Albans faces an onslaught of 64,000 new homes should the Local Plan not be approved. This week in response to calls for an emergency Full Council debate on the planning blueprint:, St Albans Liberal Democrats told the St Albans Times: “The Local Plan...
A proposal for all district councillors to take part in a full and comprehensive debate over the draft Local Plan fell on deaf ears. Addressing last week’s Full Council meeting, Tory councillor Teresa Heritage put forward a motion calling for an Extraordinary Council Meeting to discuss and debate the Local Plan...
The housing minister has blasted SADC for failings in its planning process and ordered that any applications for non-major development can now be made direct to the Planning Inspectorate. Lee Rowley MP, minister of state for housing, planning and building safety, told chief executive Amanda Foley that the district council was...
St Albans MP Daisy Cooper told a packed meeting of concerned residents that she fully backed a legal challenge which could stop the development of a huge freight terminal on the site of the old Radlett airfield. And in a further boost for the campaign, Deputy Prime Minister and MP for...
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