27 Jan 2026
Hundreds of Redbourn residents turned out in force to protest against plans for hundreds of homes on the village’s doorstep.
Approximately 1,000 homes are planned for a 104-acre open arable site on the northeast edge of the village, between Dunstable Road, Harpenden Lane and the Redbourn bypass.
The proposals by the Lawes Agricultural Trust (LAT) – a charitable trust which owns the estates at Rothamsted in Harpenden – would apparently include a new two-form entry primary school, a potential new care home, around 23 football pitches’ worth of open space, play areas and other enhancements around the River Ver chalk farm, and up to 50 per cent affordable housing.
But the development will see 42 hectares of Green Belt land reclassified as grey belt and the size of the village population increase from 2,200 to 3,200 houses.
Last night saw between 400-500 people gather at the village hall to see LAT’s latest presentation, only to hear that it was still recommending 900 houses accessing onto Harpenden Lane, and no realistic answers as to how to manage approximate 1,800 extra cars travelling in and out of Redbourn.
Resident Annabel Egerton said: “I’m still reeling from the LAT representative’s comment: ‘We aren’t here to listen to your objections or opinions we are here to show the presentation’. So rude, dismissive and uncaring towards a village full of residents whose lives are about to be severely and negatively impacted by not just one but several major building projects. Such a lack of respect.
“I asked about the traffic on Harpenden Lane and concerns at the width of the road and was told that none of their research indicates any traffic issues or problems with volume!”
Villager Eunan MacGuinness said: “The displays all looked very glamorous and slick with large houses, but there were no images at all of the dense housing we will see in reality.
“There were no images of what we would have to endure during the construction phase when lorries would be trundling through the village. Looking at the state of the road outside the small development at the recreation centre and the number of construction vehicles, it is unimaginable what the building of 1,000 houses would create on Harpenden Lane and the hazards of turning vehicles onto the site holding up through traffic.
“I can’t imagine the scenario if there is a problem on the M1 and everyone is using Redbourn as the usual short cut. The whole scheme is disguised as being beneficial to Redbourn.”
Attendee Vicky Robinson added: “The individuals representing LAT were ill-informed about their plans and could not answer basic questions about how they had assessed the impact of the proposed development on Redbourn to be appropriate.”
Redbourn Parish Council leader and SADC independent councillor David Mitchell added: “The huge turnout shows how strong feelings are running in Redbourn. No one is against new housing, however Redbourn is being targeted for excessive development: 4,000 new houses in St Albans council’s Local Plan and now this speculative application for 1,000 houses. The cumulative effect will be catastrophic. And there could be more developments around Redbourn following the Government’s decision to reclassify Green Belt around villages as grey belt which can be built on.
“The increase in traffic in the Redbourn area will be disastrous as the existing roads cannot cope and no new roads are planned. Herts county council says that we will all be walking, cycling and catching buses in the future, so not a problem. Great in principle but ridiculous in reality. It feels like the story of ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’.
“If all this development isn’t stopped, there will be housing estates from Hemel to Harpenden, and Redbourn, as we know it, will be long gone.”
The controversial East Hemel development will see a further 4,000 homes on 975 acres east of Hemel , south of the B487 Hemel Hempstead Road (Redbourn Road) and north of the A4147 St Albans Road.
The scheme has been submitted by the Crown Estate, and forms a key part of the Hemel Garden Communities (HGC) programme – a long-term commitment to transform Hemel Hempstead through the delivery of up to 11,000 new homes and thousands of new jobs by 2050.
The East Hemel site is allocated for development in SADC’s draft Local Plan, which will set the planning policy for how areas like this should be designed and developed.
