27 Jul 2026
A petition calling on district councillors to reject the proposed Local Plan has now passed the 500-signature threshold which means it must be debated by the council.
At the time of writing, the petition has attracted more than 600 signatures from residents across the district.
The petition calls on councillors to vote against the proposed Local Plan when it comes before Full Council in early September.
SADC is on track to adopt its long-awaited Local Plan this month after three years of work, but no sooner will this Plan be rubber-stamped by councillors then work will have to begin on a new planning blueprint for 2029 which reflects the Government’s major changes in assessing housing need.
The Local Plan scheduled for adoption allows for the building of 15,000 new homes in the district at carefully selected sites. This figure conformed to Government guidelines at the time and includes 1,200 social rent properties.
However, the Government’s final revised National Planning Policy Framework will be published in the summer, immediately overriding any conflicting Local Plans and effectively starting the clock on their replacements.
This means St Albans district will face a 70 per cent increase in mandatory housing targets under the new Government directives, rising to more than 23,000 new homes by 2041.
The petition argues that the Plan “lacks creativity and innovation” and does not adequately address concerns including flooding, biodiversity, cycling infrastructure, climate resilience, and the protection of the Green Belt.
It states: “We need more homes, but the Plan is poorly thought through with regard to the environment, flooding, cycling, biodiversity and community resilience in the face of climate change. The Plan prioritises Green Belt development ahead of previously developed land.
“We do need new homes, but the council has identified the wrong locations for them. The Plan does not provide the necessary infrastructure at large strategic sites to support the proposed number of new dwellings.”
Petition organiser Damian Gaskin said: “Reaching more than 500 signatures means local residents will now have the opportunity for their concerns to be heard in a formal council debate.
“Nobody is arguing that we don’t need more homes. The question is whether this Local Plan identifies the right locations and provides the infrastructure needed to support them. Many residents believe it does not.
“Our Green Belt is one of the district’s greatest assets. The petition reflects the view of many people that previously developed land should be given greater priority before Green Belt sites are released.”
Nick Johnson of campaign group Redbourn Greenbelters said: “The ‘grey belt rule’ is being abused. Local councils cannot reject Local Plans – their hands are tied (because all developers have to do is say they’ll make half the houses affordable and they can build on any Green Belt they want. We need national coordination to fight back against the policy itself. It’s anti-democratic and, as it stands, villages across England will disappear!”
Paul Crowley, Redbourn resident and environmental campaigner, added: “Productive Grade 2 and Grade 3 agricultural land should only ever be lost where there is a clear, transparent and evidence-based justification, because once our best agricultural land is lost it cannot simply be replaced. Globally rare chalk streams, biodiversity and our natural environment are national assets that deserve the highest level of protection.
“Planning decisions should be based on preventing foreseeable harm, not attempting to rectify damage after it has already occurred, because restoration is not always possible or guaranteed.
“We also need a planning and environmental regulatory system that is simpler, more transparent, nationally accountable and properly coordinated, rather than today’s fragmented and overly complex framework where responsibility is divided across numerous organisations and accountability is too easily lost.
“Communities deserve confidence that decisions affecting their homes, environment and future are based on robust evidence, independent scrutiny and genuine transparency.
“The decisions we make today will shape our food security, water security, environment and communities for generations to come. We have a responsibility to leave our children and grandchildren a healthier, more resilient country than the one we inherited.
“For many people, including those living with disabilities, long-term health conditions, learning disabilities and cognitive impairments, access to the countryside, green spaces and healthy rivers is not a luxury – it is an essential part of maintaining physical and mental wellbeing.
“Yet the complexity of the current planning and regulatory system creates unnecessary barriers to meaningful public participation, particularly for those who already face additional challenges. A system that is difficult for ordinary people to understand is unlikely to earn public trust.
“We need a planning system that puts people, communities and the environment before bureaucracy, values long-term stewardship over short-term thinking, and ensures that future generations inherit a country that is healthier, fairer and more sustainable than the one we enjoy today.”
The petition also argues that recent changes to national planning policy mean the proposed Local Plan may not meet future housing requirements, and calls on the council to reconsider its approach before adopting the plan.
The Full Council debate is expected to take place in early September, and although the Liberal Democrat majority at SADC means it is unlikely to approve rejecting the Local Plan at this stage, you can still sign the petition here.
SADC leader Cllr Paul de Kort said: “Having met the threshold of 500 signatories this petition will be able to be presented to the next appropriate council committee. However the petition makes a range of claims that are not supported by the evidence, whether that be the availability of brownfield sites to provide the 15,000 homes demanded by the Government, or the chosen sites flooding risk or that, more generally, better sites could have been chosen with better protection for our environment or with better infrastructure.
“Crucially, this is the view shared by the Government’s Planning Inspectorate examiners after an 18 month, detailed study of SADC’s draft Plan. They are the key authority in this.
“The Government has been very clear that should SADC now fail to adopt the Local Plan that their inspectors have certified, they would adopt it for us, whilst at the same time taking away the remaining local powers that we have to scrutinise the delivery of these allocated sites to the requirements set out in the Plan that we have so carefully devised and delivered.”
Labour group leader Mike Hobday added: “The proposed new Local Plan is deeply controversial. The concerns raised by so many residents deserve to be taken very seriously and given a full debate.
“This is one of the most important decisions St Albans council will make for many years. It will shape the future of our district, affecting housing, green spaces, infrastructure, transport and the character of our communities for decades to come.
“Of course the proposed Plan brings improvements over the old 1994 Plan – shamefully the oldest in the country. The world has changed significantly since then. A modern Plan gives us the opportunity to set stronger standards for design, sustainability, biodiversity and infrastructure.
“But the Plan is flawed – in particular by its heavy focus on Green Belt development. Two thirds of the new homes proposed will be on Green Belt land – and that is far too many. The council has neglected previously developed land in favour of using precious Green Belt. St Albans is fortunate to have a high-quality natural environment, and once open countryside is developed it cannot easily be restored.
“The key question is not simply whether we need a new Plan, but whether this is the right Plan. That means asking whether the proposed sites are the most appropriate locations, whether the evidence is robust, whether the impacts on communities and the environment have been properly assessed, and whether the promised infrastructure improvements will actually be delivered.
“I welcome the fact that residents are engaging with this process and making their voices heard. This is an important debate because residents deserve a Local Plan that delivers the homes we need while protecting the qualities that make St Albans such a special place to live.”
And Cllr Matt Cowley, leader of the Conservative group, said: “Throughout this process, we have been clear that the Liberal Democrats’ dither and delay would result in real harm for residents. Our current Local Plan is older than I am – and the Lib Dem failure to get a new plan adopted in good time has left our district facing the bizarre twin problems of a housing crisis and a lack of protection for our countryside. Now, right at the end of the process, they have finally decided to move quickly – just as caution on moving quickly would have been more appropriate.
“When this Plan is adopted – and given the political numbers that seems likely – the council will immediately have to create an entirely new Plan, from scratch, at enormous cost to taxpayers, to meet the new and much higher housing target.
“I can fully understand residents’ frustrations.
“The Local Plan is one of the most basic functions a council has to do – residents will judge for themselves how the Lib Dems have handled it.”
