ARMSTRONG RIGG PLANNING
Site: Land at Barnet Lane, Borehamwood
Client: Barratt David Wilson
Land at Barnet Lane lies in the Green Belt and is located on the edge of the Tier 1 settlement of Borehamwood.
ARP were first instructed by Barratt David Wilson in 2016 to promote it for housing development through the emerging Hertsmere Local Plan. Since then, and in tandem with extensive discussions with officers secured via a Planning Performance Agreement (PPA), representations have been made to the various iterations of the emerging Plan and its evidence base. This culminated in its proposed allocation for 250 new homes in the Regulation 18 draft Hertsmere Local Plan published in September 2021.
In the wake of considerable public objection, the Council took the decision in April 2022 not to progress to Regulation 19 stage and instead to reconsider the plan strategy with the consequential delays that would bring to plan preparation. In the absence of any definitive Local Plan timetable, BDW decided to pursue a planning application and in May 2023 an outline planning application for up to 220 homes was submitted.
This followed further collaboration with officers, again through a PPA arrangement, and which continued through to the determination of the application.
The application was recommended for approval by officers who following rigorous assessment found there to be no technical constraints to the site’s development and that the package of benefits that would accrue from the proposals significantly and demonstrably outweigh any harm to the Green Belt, and any other harm. Accordingly, they considered that the ‘very special circumstances’ test set by paragraph 153 of the National Planning Policy Framework had been met and planning permission should be granted. Despite the absence of any technical objections to the application and whilst acknowledging the desperate need for housing in the borough, particularly affordable housing, Members disagreed and resolved to refuse the application in March 2024.
Just a matter of weeks later, an Additional Regulation 18 Draft Hertsmere Local Plan was published for public consultation. The appeal site is again proposed as an allocation for 250 new homes.
An appeal against the refusal of the application was allowed and planning permission was granted following a Public Inquiry in November 2024. The Inspector concluded that the harms identified to the Green Belt, as well as any other harms, namely those to the character and appearance of the landscape, were clearly outweighed by the substantial package of benefits arising from the scheme, most notably the provision of much needed open market, affordable and self-build housing. Accordingly, very special circumstances were found to exist. In drawing his conclusions regarding the very substantial weight that should be attributed to the provision of open market and affordable housing, the Inspector referenced the fact that the Council’s plan-making process had stalled and that in a Borough which is 80% Green Belt and has limited brownfield land available it is inevitable that a significant amount of future housing development is going to have to take place on land that is currently Green Belt (Appeal Ref: APP/APP/N1920/W/24/3346928).
