Your Last Chance to Object to 1400 Houses on Green Belt in Tring

Living Magazines Chilterns AONB Turville May 21 Credit Hedley Thorne

Following our post on the latest update about the proposed Marshcroft Development, the Chiltern Society have kindly shared this reminder…

A reminder that the Dacorum Borough Council deadline for submitting your objections to developers’ hybrid planning application 22/01187/MOA is fast approaching – your comments need to with DBC by 4 May to be considered. Thank you indeed if you have already commented.

The developers propose to build 1,400 houses on Green Belt land adjoining the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty between Station Road and Bulbourne Road, Tring, plus 2 schools, a community hub and public open spaces – all on farmland which as I write is being cultivated with a linseed oil crop for the benefit of many. As this is a hybrid application, without details of layout, roads, etc… there is no guarantee than any of the suggested infrastructure would materialise and in any event, the developers state they will only make ‘a contribution’ but fail to say what this might be.

On Monday last week, the meeting of Tring Town Council, where this application was discussed, was very well attended by many members of the public, including a representative from the CCG Steering Group. Everyone attending spoke unanimously against the application; this view was then unanimously endorsed by Councillors, who will recommend to DBC, as planning authority, that the application be refused.

We give below core reasons for objection to this application, which you are most welcome to use in your own comments, preferably in your own words – and of course, please do add your own individual concerns too.

  • Application is hybrid which means that permission is sought for some of the site with full details of the remainder to follow under reserved matters, so no guarantee that any final development would be anything like that illustrated in the developer’s promotional material. In particular, we are very concerned that the Suitable Alternative Natural Green Space (which is actually totally unsuitable) would be delivered as this, and other green spaces, will restrict the number of houses which might eventually be built for the developer’s profit.
  • Local Planning Authorities have complete discretion on whether or not to accept a hybrid application. Please urge DBC not to accept this.
  • The whole site is in designated Green Belt.
  • Green Belt can only be released for development in exceptional and very special circumstances, (National Planning Policy Framework 20.7.21 notably paragraphs 147-9), which these proposals fail to fulfil.
  • DBC is currently reviewing the Local Plan, following community feedback from last year’s consultation, with an intention to consider brownfield urban sites within the Borough, rather than release Green Belt.
  • It is imperative that this review should be finalised before any decisions are made on releasing Green Belt, particularly that of such a substantial nature and in such a significant location in the Chilterns and the Borough.
  • The site adjoins and forms part of the setting for the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
  • Development will be visible from the high points of the AONB, such as Ivinghoe Beacon, thus destroying its rural and peaceful green character.
  • Site is currently cultivated as Grade 2 agricultural land – nationally, we need to increase our food self-sufficiency, not concrete over valuable farmland.
  • Large number of dwellings will drastically and adversely change the rural setting and character of the market town of Tring.
  • Increase in traffic.
  • The size of the proposed development is far greater than is appropriate for the present size of the town, which has already been extended recently by a large housing development on its Western edge.
  • Developer does not state what proportion of costs they will contribute to building infrastructure, but merely ‘a contribution’.
  • Proposals ignore extra demand on hospital health care, already under pressure. Building a health centre, which will only serve new housing, does not alleviate demand on local hospitals.
  • Developer (Harrow Estates/Redrow) only owns part of the site (that nearest to Station Road) so no commitment that the site would be developed as is outlined in this application.
  • Timeframe of development over 11 years (2022-33) means long drawn-out adverse impacts of construction, loss of amenity, increased demand on local resources without obligation for developer to provide infrastructure, and other associated adverse effects, especially for presently neighbouring residents and parking in town centre and at Tring Station.
  • This site falls within the Chilterns Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation (SAC) – March 2022.  We understand that DBC is required to implement mitigation to alleviate visitor pressure on Ashridge and Tring Woodlands. This site falls within the Zone of Influence and should be protected from development of any kind.

If you don’t have time to include the above points, then just a simple straight forward objection as below, will still help enormously.

  • I strongly object to these proposals and request Dacorum Borough Council refuse this application, which would have such an extremely detrimental effect on our Chiltern countryside, its AONB, the Borough and the market town of Tring.

Make your objections known by either:

  1. Email Dacorum’s planning department (planning@dacorum.gov.uk) by 4 May; or
  2. Add an online comment using https://planning.dacorum.gov.uk/publicaccess/ by 4 May