02 Aug 2025
Campaigners have reflected on the devastating decision to approve development of 721 new houses on 30 hectares of Green Belt land to the west of Chiswell Green village.
They fear the High Court’s decision sets a major precedent for future schemes across the district.
Paul King, speaking on behalf of Greenbelt, the community group that has been opposing an application to build 95 houses in the Green Belt west of Watling Street, responded to the news.
“The High Court’s decision is terrible news for the residents of Chiswell Green and St Albans.
“Keep Chiswell Green did a phenomenal job compiling the case and presenting it to one of the highest courts in the land. The numerous village events organised, in order to raise the money to challenge this decision, has created a tremendous sense of community in the village, which will probably be the only positive legacy of this awful process.
“Our district is now in an awful position of having numerous planning applications passed, either by the council or at appeal, so much so that the council is now afraid to reject
applications, if indeed it ever had the backbone to do so.
“Last year we had the outrageous situation of a special planning meeting, held in secret, voting not to support their own councillors’ decision to reject an application to build 95
houses in Part Street. As a consequence it was left to our campaign group to become a Rule 6 Party and stand alone at the public inquiry to fight the appeal.
“The overall planning situation in the district has now been aggravated by the Labour Government driving a coach and horses through long standing Green Belt policy, with
their creation of grey belt.
“Now we are seeing almost any Green Belt land being termed grey belt, making the granting of planning permission a formality.
“St Albans district will soon become a highly urbanised area, with the elimination of open space between towns, destruction of village communities and inadequate facilities serving too great a population.”
Susie Taylor, one of the driving forces behind opposition to the Park Street rail freight depot, added: “Brownfield sites must be developed first and empty homes should be used before our green fields and agricultural land is used. Planning applications should not be granted because it’s cheaper for the developer to use untouched green fields to maximise their profits.
“It’s clear the housing targets are over inflated, the developers are land banking and driving the so called housing crisis. Affordable homes aren’t affordable for most at 80 per cent of the current market value and we all know St Albans is one of the most expensive places to buy.
“The younger generation here will be forced to move away to more affordable areas leaving a predominantly an ageing population in St Albans. Chiswell Green and Park Street are already areas where the general population is older.
“We don’t need more executive homes, we need smaller affordable homes and social housing.
“There’s been no thought to already creaking infrastructure here. With the rail freight interchange traffic, and all these new developments, our already busy roads will be at a standstill generating further pollution and increasing respiratory diseases in the local population. One in five children are getting diagnosed with asthma, and that number will likely increase. Which leads onto healthcare. Are there are new GP surgeries being created? Or a new hospital or any healthcare centres?
“The environment and chalk aquifers are already over abstracted affecting our River Ver so where is the water supply coming from for all these thousands of new homes around St Albans? The Markyate Treatment Works is already overloaded and pumping untreated sewage into the River Ver so where will all the extra sewage end up?
“And what about our environment, our wildlife and green spaces needed for physical and mental wellbeing? Its proven nature and green spaces reduce stress, anxiety and depression.
“There no logic or common sense being applied, only shortsighted greed that will affect us all. What a rotten legacy to leave for our future generations.”
Gee Smedley, spokesperson for CLASH, the group fighting the development of north St Albans, welcomed the recent news about the Hertfordshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS), but fears it could be a case of too little, too late.
“We have heard about the LNRS in planning policy and climate committee meetings for the last two years, but with no details or what the impact of them might be. We welcome the launch of the consultation, but is it too late?
“The LNRS has not been integrated into the Local Plan process. It has not guided site selection, it has not provided any addition data to feed into the assessment of speculative planning applications. We note that the North St Albans site owned by Cala Homes is a site described as “of particular importance for biodiversity”.
“We know this to be true as we have long described the abundance of red list birds, protected mammals and species rich flora etc.
“The consultation also points to the biodiversity of the hedgerows and ancient woodland that border Woollam Park, but it fails to identify the hedgerow within the Woollam Park scheme.
“This feels like a good intention, albeit limp attempt to comply with national Government requirements to create a LNRS. We will be responding to the consultation and urge others to do the same, asking they require any LNRS site to be excluded from development, especially when it is already part of what should be protected Green Belt.”
