A blueprint for plans to build around 2,100 homes to the east of Luton has been signed off by councillors.

North Herts Council agreed on a masterplan for the site at an extraordinary full council meeting on Wednesday (15 January), voting it through by 31 votes to six. 

The masterplan, which sets out design principles behind the proposed development, will be used to judge future site planning applications.

Around 840 of the 2,100 homes – forty per cent of the total – will be 'affordable', according to the government definition of the term.

They will be built on "predominantly" agricultural land around the villages of Cockernhoe, Mangrove Green, and Tea Green, which was allocated for development in the council's Local Plan.

The Labour leader of North Herts Council, Cllr Daniel Allen, said the developments would "meet housing needs which cannot physically be accommodated in neighbouring Luton". 

Cllr Allen said: "This masterplan ensures we offer the best future for this development.

"Without a masterplan, this will still almost definitely be built on, but we won't have the control of phasing, buses, hierarchy, street design …

"We need to make sure we protect local infrastructure and quality, and we do that through a masterplan."

He was backed by Cllr Ruth Brown, leader of the council's Liberal Democrat group, who said she was "aware of the vast amount of public feeling against development on these sites" but insisted North Herts would be "better off with this masterplan than without it". 

Cllr Claire Strong (Con) said: "We want the best for the residents that are going to be living in this [development] … and that can only, in my mind, be achieved if we've got a very robust masterplan.

"If we vote against this, things like the buffer zones and some of the other good bits that are in there, those will be lost."

Plans for the sites – which have several landowners, including the Crown Estate, Bloor Homes and A. T. Oliver – have been updated following a public consultation last year to include 'green corridors' separating the new developments from existing villages. 

But a number of councillors raised concerns about the plans.

Cllr Ralph Muncer, leader of the Conservative group, said councillors had a responsibility "to the residents of North Hertfordshire, not to the residents of any other borough or district".

He suggested "there is no unmet [housing] need" in Luton and noted that the borough's housing target was recently reduced from 1,463 homes each year to 1,082.

Cllr Muncer's views were echoed by fellow Conservative Cllr David Barnard, who argued Luton does not have a housing need and said the masterplan is "severely flawed".

Two Labour councillors hit back at the claims from the Conservative group.

Cllr Daniel Wright-Mason accused them of "undermining the level of the housing crisis in this country" and said North Herts has a "real housing need".

"I think to act as if it's just a Luton problem is a massive disservice to a lot of people in this district, especially young people," he said.

Cllr Alistair Willoughby said people don't live in "silos" and that "we need homes everywhere".

He suggested "many people" may want to live in the area where the homes would be built but would otherwise have to move out of North Herts. 

The Local Plan for North Herts said 1,950 homes from the East of Luton development will be "a contribution towards the unmet needs for housing arising from Luton". However, they will still count towards North Herts' figures for meeting government housebuilding targets. 

When the national planning inspector assessed the Local Plan, he said it was "highly regrettable" that developments would harm the green belt but said excluding sites from the plan would "shatter … the home-making aspirations of many people". 

Sunny Sahadevan, interim director for sustainable development at Luton Borough Council, said the plans would be "mutually beneficial" for both councils.

He insisted, despite claims that Luton does not have an unmet housing need, that it has only a 3.6-year land supply for housing against an expected minimum of five years.

He said this figure had fallen since North Herts agreed to its Local Plan in 2022. 

One issue raised by a number of councillors was a potential increase in traffic on Chalk Hill, a single track road at the north of the site with limited passing points.

A representative from a developer said the two primary access points for the development would be Crawley Green Lane and Darley Road and that "some improvements" would be made to Chalk Hill.

Full details of the proposed developments will come through planning applications.

The masterplan said the sites would include three schools – two primary schools with two classes per year group and one secondary school with four classes per year group.

A 'local centre' would also be established, which could include facilities such as retail and meeting spaces, childcare options, and a café. However, a final decision has not yet been made on whether the site will include its own GP surgery. 

Outside spaces include allotments, community gardens, playing fields and six children's play areas. 

The masterplan claims the development is "sustainably located" and walking and cycling "will be encouraged over other modes of transport through 20mph speed limits, reduced parking at local facilities [and] reduced road widths".

At the meeting, a representative from the developer said they are proposing a new bus service "connecting the town centre, the railway station, the airport [and] certain other key locations", with a stop within 400m of each new property. 

The homes will range from one-bedroom to five-bedrooms, with the "highest proportion" being three- and four-bedroom homes. According to the developers, they will be "predominantly" two and two-and-a-half storeys tall.