Proposal to build on Green Belt and conservation area called-in to council

Two separate applications to build homes in Harpenden will be discussed by St Albans council’s planning committee next Monday.

They are an application to build a two-storey four-bedroom home with a driveway at the rear of High Elms in a conservation area and an application to build two two-storey four-bedroom homes on The Common.

The High Elms development has been called in by Harpenden councillor Teresa Heritage because: “I am concerned the proposed development will seriously affect the character of the conservation area in that a considerable number of mature trees will be removed.

“It will seriously affect the amenity of the occupant of Cedars Lodge, Redbourn Lane, as the removal of the trees and shrubbery with the boundary of the Cedars and the height of the house, will diminish the privacy of the rear garden of the Cedars.”

She wants the council to prohibit the development of the loft at the development.

The development on The Common has been called in by two councillors: one who wants the application approved and another who is unsure.

Redbourn councillor Maxine Crawley wants council officers to consider whether the need for new housing outweighs green belt issues, whether the application falls within the village of Kinsbourne Green and whether it fits in with the street scene.

Sandridge councillor Beric Read is unsure on whether the application should be granted as the application is for building on the Metropolitan Green Belt.