The St Albans Local Plan is set to be discussed at a meeting in Harpenden, as the district council declares its pride in progress made. 

The meeting, held by the Harpenden Society, will take place at 8pm on Wednesday, January 31 at the Katherine Warington School.

More than 1,200 people attended exhibitions held across the district and more than 1,800 people gave their views in a questionnaire, prior to consultations closing in September 2023.

The Harpenden Society have invited Cllr Paul de Kort to report on the progress being made to date, and explain the issues involved in developing the Local Plan for the next 17 years.

Provisional dates will also be given for when residents will learn more about the publication of the finalised draft Local Plan.

The Liberal Democrats, who hold 48 of the council's 56 seats, have recently described their pride at the progress made to the plan.

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The local authority's leader, Cllr Chris White, said: "We're really proud that the draft Local Plan for the St Albans district puts tackling the climate change at its heart, includes housing for people in need, and puts brownfield development first, minimising the impact on the greenbelt. 

Herts Advertiser: The leader of St Albans City & District Council, Cllr Chris White.The leader of St Albans City & District Council, Cllr Chris White. (Image: Chris White)

"The local Lib Dem administration is rightly pushing ahead with developing our plan as quickly as possible so that we can deliver on our vision for our area."

A number of pieces of land have been identified to be '"released from the Green Belt" should the plan go ahead.

A host of new schools, country parks that equal "about 10 times the size of Verulamium Park" and around 15,000 new homes have all been included.

Herts Advertiser: Michael Gove has named St Albans one of the seven worst authorities for plan making.Michael Gove has named St Albans one of the seven worst authorities for plan making. (Image: PA)

Last month (December 2023), St Albans City & District Council were singled out by Michael Gove as one of the seven worst authorities for plan-making in the country.

This led to council leader Chris White describing his comments as "crass” and explaining "The Conservative government's new guidance is riddled with contradictions and a lack of clarity".

Tickets for the public meeting can be booked via the Harpenden Society website: www.harpendensociety.org