27 Apr 2024
Campaigners have come away with more questions than answers following a meeting with developers hoping to build on St Albans’ Green Belt.
Representatives of Team CLASH met with Cala Homes for a one-to-one discussion about their proposals to build 150 homes in north St Albans.
Spokesperson Gee Smedley said: “In our one-to-one meeting we asked questions on issues we felt concerned us the most: transport, flooding and ecology. How will Cala fulfil the conditions on these, especially as the benefits they state in their glossy flyer are dependent upon the 38 conditions linked to these issues being waived or fulfilled?
“The answers we got were not clear cut. Which is maybe not unsurprising?
“If we take a pragmatic approach, we now have a large professionally-run nation house builder with other strategic assets in St Albans looking to deliver a profitable scheme on the site behind Harpenden Road. They have done it before (elsewhere) and will do it again. That is their job, their business, what they are paid and earn bonuses for.
“But before we hang up our banners…let’s remember: Cala is owned by L&G. L&G own a large site in North Harpenden (over 500 dwellings) with the same issues (highways and flooding). They have not found a solution for these and they have not been able to bring forward a development scheme as a result.”
CLASH have identified several questions which are outstanding:
- What will the proposed sustainable travel scheme look like? Where will it go? Will there be North and South cycle lanes on Harpenden Road and how will they deliver these safely?
- How much flooding will they be required to deal with? When the ponds they propose are full, where will the flood water be pumped to by the onsite pumping station? Or will they pumped into the over capacity sewer?
- How will they deliver the biodiversity net gain? Where, how many and what age trees going to be planted? When will they dredge the filled-in pond? Are they seeking to rehome any species like reptiles and amphibians? Why are the building on the existing wildlife pathways?
- What are the accessibility criteria for the proposed affordable housing and who are the housing association managing it? There is no discounted market housing and no social housing.
Gee added: “Cala’s literature would have us believe this is all going to be built tomorrow and that we need not be worried about any negative impacts. We are very worried about a lot of negative impacts and will continue to oppose this dreadful damaging scheme.
“The council and SADC councillors could stop this.
“They could remove this and other inappropriate sites that lack the vital infrastructure to deliver high density housing from the Local Plan and not allow the conditions to be waived unfulfilled.”
