Increase in housing target for East Herts as Labour backs ‘builders not blockers’
Labour has ramped up building targets for East Herts and the rest of Hertfordshire with a warning that “councils will be told to play their part to meet housing need”.
The district expected to accommodate 1,041 properties a year. After consultation in July, that jumped to 1,173 and the Government’s latest formula gives the authority a target of 1,265 – up 21.5% on the original figure.
There are increases for eight of the 10 districts across Hertfordshire, with 10,096 new homes as the annual target for the county.
Labour’s new National Planning Policy Framework (NPFF) rules will mean:
As it announced its planning overhaul to reach 1.5 million new homes, the Government said it “supports builders, not blockers”.
The new targets were revealed as East Herts Council confirmed it was working with North Herts district council and Broxbourne, Stevenage and Welwyn Hatfield borough councils on a new strategy for “good growth”.
Together they are collaborating with Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) to plan for the longer-term, sustainable growth of North East Central (NEC) Hertfordshire.
The Government wants the five districts to build 4,384 homes a year under the new rules – as of April 2022, there were 18,770 planning permissions in place for new housing.
There was an average 73% increase in house prices in NEC Herts between 2011 and 2021. Almost two-thirds of properties – 65% – are owner-occupied, 19% socially rented and 16% privately rented.
At the same time, just 7% of households use public transport to get to work while 48% use private vehicles and 8% cycle or walk.
The councils want a shared vision to address these issues. Their aim is cross-boundary planning to address climate change, protect the environment, develop infrastructure, provide housing and promote employment.
Residents can have their say on the NEC Hertfordshire Vision 2050 via an online consultation until the end of January.
Cllr Vicky Glover Ward, East Herts Council’s executive member for planning and growth, said: “By consulting on our shared vision, we gain a greater understanding of what is most important to residents, communities and stakeholders within our key towns and rural areas. This means we can prioritise what matters across North East Central Herts as a whole.”
The council believes that by working together, they will be in a stronger position to deliver and fund essential facilities including transport, schools, health, water and sewerage.
The vision sets out some of the challenges they face. By 2043, the area is expected to have a population of 627,513 – up from 591,700 in 2021 – and 8% of the population is projected to be at least 80.
The draft document says: “Population growth in North East Central Herts is placing pressures on our towns and settlements, as well as our areas of Green Belt, which take up to 40% of land and surrounds a number of settlements.
“Outward expansion of settlements results in urban sprawl, which usually consists of low-density, car-dependent housing developments, far from jobs, shops and hubs of social life.
“This unsustainable pattern of growth increases infrastructure costs and forces us to spend more time in our cars, leading to road congestion and increased air pollution.
“Urban sprawl also exacerbates the effects of climate change, with extensive areas of hard surfaces leading to increased rainwater run-off that contributes to flash flooding, putting additional pressures on our sewage infrastructure, while the urban heat island effect adds to the effects of heatwave.
“It is vital that we guide good growth that addresses the negative impacts of urban sprawl with sustainable solutions that will ensure the resilience of our urban areas and continued wellbeing of our communities.”
For more details and to take part in the consultation, see https://www.eastherts.gov.uk/necvision.
