Hitchin Member of Parliament Warns Council Set to Breach Local Plan Policies

Bim Afolami MP has called for North Herts Council to begin an immediate review of its Local Plan, amidst warnings that the Council is set to breach policies in its own Local Plan.

Policies SP8 and IMR2 of the North Herts Local Plan – adopted by the Labour/Liberal Democrat-run Council last November – require that the Council undertakes a review of the plan by the end of 2023 at the earliest.

But in response to a question from Kimpton Councillor Ralph Muncer last month, the Council confirmed that its Cabinet won't even take a formal decision on whether to review the Plan until 2024.

The recent controversial decision by Councillors to approve the Highover Farm development has highlighted the importance of up-to-date Local Plan policies.

With the Council potentially set to be in breach of key policies to achieve that, Mr Afolami has now written to the Secretary of State, asking him to ensure that the Council begins a Local Plan Review as soon as possible.

Mr Afolami said: "The Local Plan is a contract between the Council and residents, managing future development and protecting our green spaces.

"When they passed the Local Plan, Labour and the Liberal Democrats committed to a review of it before the end of 2023, to make sure that it remains up to date. Now, they say that they won't even make a decision on whether they will review it until 2024.

"But decisions that impact our communities are being made on the basis of the Local Plan right now. And Labour and the Lib Dems took an area for more than 3,000 houses on the edge of Stevenage in Wymondley, St. Ippolyts and Langley out of the greenbelt in the Local Plan - to have its future decided by the Local Plan Review.

"If we delay, opportunistic developers could start to decide the future of our communities, not local people. 

"I am calling on Labour and the Lib Dems to keep the promise that they made to you and begin a review of the Local Plan before the end of the year."

Residents can join Bim Afolami in calling for an immediate Local Plan Review here: https://www.bimafolami.co.uk/local-plan