BLOG: What’s next for Three Rivers Local Plan

Two weeks ago, Matthew Pennycook, Minister of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, wrote to me directing us to not to submit our Local Plan for its final public consultation. This plan would guide development in our district. He asked us to provide evidence as to why it would not meet the government’s housing target.

Naturally, I am very disappointed that the government decided to halt our progression to the next key stage of public consultation and then a Public Inquiry. The plan was approved at Special Full Council meeting with no votes against it. We accept his decision in so doing and we are working collaboratively and constructively with the government, as we always have done. Our submissions along with a detailed 10-page summary has gone to the Minster. We are urging him to let us proceed with our Local Plan.

Now, it is true that our Local Plan does not meet the government’s high target of about 13,000 homes for Three Rivers over a 15-year plan period. We are proposing just over 7,000, or 56% of what the government would like due to two big constraining factors.

One of these is the unavailability of brownfield sites with fewer than 700 dwellings being available on such sites. The second is the fact that 76% of Three Rivers is green belt. This means that we would need to plan for approximately 11,500 new homes, some 95% of the housing numbers, to be on green belt land in a semi-rural district in order to meet the government’s housing target. My view is this would irrevocably change the character of the district.

Our independent green belt review indicated that significant development within seven large areas of the district would undermine the importance of the greenbelt. That review and other supporting documentation has been submitted to the government.

Notwithstanding that, we do recognise that our district does need new homes, infrastructure and employment space to meet our future population and economic needs. But any development needs to be the right type and amount and in the right places. Our Local Plan does include significant developments in both the green belt and what is now classed as grey belt to accommodate some of that. We are not being nimby but are realistic.

Because of those reasons, the council believes it has a comprehensive argument as to why it should deviate from the government’s housing target. Councillors from different parties on the district council, the Three Rivers Joint Residents’ Association, which represent 22 resident groups in the area, along with Parish Councils and residents who took part in our Regulation 18 consultations have put a huge amount of time engaging in the process and support our approach.

I do hope the government will now let us proceed to the final stage; a Full and open Public Inquiry to approve or amend our plan and thus stop speculative development.