Hitchin MP Bim Afolami writes a regular monthly column for Nub News.

Read on for his latest piece, in which he says: Housing Developments Should Help Fix Problems in Hitchin 

As a Member of Parliament, you have no constitutional authority over or responsibility for local planning applications, your area's house-building strategy, or local infrastructure projects.

This can be quite frustrating, because often these proposals have far-reaching implications for the future of Hitchin. 

I have long been clear that house-building should bring solutions – not just more problems for the community into which new neighbourhoods are being built. That could be through things like biodiversity net gain – a policy I championed in Westminster which now means new housing developments have to leave local biodiversity in a better state than it was before development. It could also be through things like new schools, GP surgeries, and other wider infrastructure projects. 

As mentioned at the start of this article, unfortunately as your local MP I cannot enforce any of that on developers. But what I can do is to try to bring decision-makers, developers and other interested parties together to take a cohesive look at the impact of specific applications on our town – and how we can maximise the local gain from development. 

Lots of local residents have shared their concerns with me over the planned development at Highover Farm.

In particular, one of the recurrent themes has been how the addition of 1000 plus cars to Hitchin's already congested roads will worsen the town's traffic troubles. 

I understand these concerns, and that's why I have been looking at ways in which we can use this development – if Councillors give it the go ahead – to improve rather than worsen traffic in Hitchin. One particular opportunity unique to this site is the potential for an HGV relief road to the industrial estate on Wilbury Way. 

Currently, hundreds of inappropriate HGVs are using residential roads through the heart of Hitchin to go to and from the industrial estate. That has an enormous impact on the day-to-day lives of people living on the worst-effected streets; but it also contributes to the town's wider traffic problems, with HGVs travelling down roads they shouldn't be backing up traffic flow. 

Including a relief road in the Highover Farm development – set away from the new houses being built there and running along the railway line – could, when combined with well-enforced new restrictions on HGV movements through the town, help to take that huge volume of HGVs out of the local road network. 

Highover Farm also represents an opportunity to secure vital funding to help to deliver on our plan to open up Eastern access to Hitchin Station for pedestrians and cyclists. Doing so will also help to alleviate some of Hitchin's traffic problems by making it easier for people to choose to walk or cycle to the Station, rather than drive. I continue to push for Government funding to make this project a reality, but after previous delays at our local Councils saw us miss out on the chance for earlier funding pots, this is an important opportunity Councillors should ensure they seize. 

Finally, the creation of a new neighbourhood here should also include a neighbourhood centre – bringing convenient shops, facilities and a local High Street to Walsworth to help reduce the need for local people to drive into town using congested roads ill-designed for a high volume of day-to-day traffic. 

Ultimately your Councillors were the people who decided that Highover Farm was an important site for a large new housing development to meet our town's needs when they passed the Local Plan. Now Councillors must take the opportunity to demand that this development helps to fix Hitchin's HGV and traffic problems – rather than making them worse. If they miss this chance, it could set our town back a generation. 

Bim Afolami MP

To show your support for Bim's campaign for a new HGV relief road to be included in the Highover Farm development, go to www.bimafolami.co.uk/hgv-relief-road.