Member subscriptions for 2026 are now due.
July 2019
RESPONSES TO THE CALL FOR SITES CONSULTATION
Our Planning Consultant Jed Griffiths MA DipTP FRTPI, prepared on our behalf responses to the consultation document issued by Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council on the 7 May 2019. To view our responses to those sites in North Mymms click here. To view BrP17 Land east of Swanland Road and west of Warrengate Road click here.
NEW DEADLINE DATE FOR LOCAL PLAN CONSULTATION
Please note that the closing deadline date for objecting/commenting on the additional sites in the Local Plan has now been extended to Monday 24 June 9am.
Following the NMDGBS and Parish Council Meetings, the Welham Green residents formed an action group and distributed information to all houses in the Welham Green community on how to object to the Local Plan consultation. To view their covering letter click here and to view the map click here.
Objection points are already shown below in the Welham Green and South Hatfield hand outs.
WELWYN HATFIELD LOCAL PLAN CONSULTATION
At the Public Meeting held on the 3 June, the following hand outs were given: Brookmans Park and Bell Bar click here ; Little Heath and Swanley Bar click here and Welham Green and South Hatfield click here
Watch our website for further developments.
PUBLIC MEETING
In response to the Council’s published details of their supplementary “Call for Sites” we are holding a Public Meeting on Monday, 3 June 2019 at 8pm at the United Reformed Church, Bluebridge Road, Brookmans Park.
If you feel passionate about protecting the area you live in then come along to the meeting where our Planning Consultant, Jed Griffiths, MA Dip TP FRTPI will update you on the Local Plan and answer questions. REMEMBER Your support is important as once the fields that surround you have gone they will never return.
Please pass this information on to your neighbours as without the support of the community our voice will not be heard. Look forward to seeing you on the 3rd June.
LOCAL PLAN UPDATE
ADDITIONAL SITES FOR OVER 3,000 NEW HOMES PLUS FURTHER EMPLOYMENT LAND AND A PRIMARY SCHOOL PROPOSED FOR NORTH MYMMS
WHBC have published details of the response to their supplementary “Call for Sites” to make up the shortfall in the housing numbers in the draft local plan.
Over 140 new and re-promoted sites have been put forward in our Borough.
42 of these sites are in North Mymms with suggestions for over 3,000 dwellings plus further employment land and a primary school.
The Council has opened up a Consultation on these proposals with a closing deadline of 5pm on Tuesday 18 June.
The consultation documents and guidance notes for making a representation can be viewed by clicking here.
The Society has previously commented on those sites which were promoted at earlier stages of the Local Plan process but we will be commenting in detail on all of the sites now proposed within North Mymms.
We will also comment on the overall impact on the Green Belt in the Borough.
The Council will be carrying out both individual and cumulative analysis of the sites. It is unhelpful that the analysis is not available during the consultation period.
Whilst these are only proposals they are a frightening indication of the fragility of our precious Green Belt and the fierce desire of local developers.
We shall be holding a Public Meeting on Monday 3 June to give members an opportunity to voice their views. Further details will be communicated shortly.
Volunteer social media editor and webmaster wanted.
Local green belt society looking to boost on line presence.
Are you a local student or young professional looking for voluntary work experience as a website and social media editor? Do you know how to send out compelling updates on Twitter and Facebook? Do you have an interest in the local environment?
If so, the North Mymms District Green Belt Society (NMDGBS) would like to hear from you.
The NMDGBS has around a thousand members, and currently communicates through regular newsletters which drop through local doors. The society also has a website where updates are posted from time to time. But the NMDGBS doesn’t have a social media presence, and the society would like to start sharing its updates on both Twitter and Facebook.
The position is voluntary and the hours flexible. You would be expected to be able to set up a Facebook page for the NMDGBS and manage both the updates, new members, and any comments, working closely with society members who would produce the content updates and act as a second pair of eyes for everything produced.
You would also be expected to help set up a Twitter presence @NMDGBS and produce updated tweets when requested. And you would be required to monitor responses and feed those back to the Society’s committee.
Anyone interested should contact the secretary on greenbeltnothmymms@hotmail.co.uk
AGM REPORT
The Society’s AGM was held in the North Mymms Memorial Hall on Monday 25th March and was presided over by our President, Gary Mabbutt, MBE.
The meeting approved the Chairman’s report and the Annual Accounts.
Answering questions on his report, Chairman, again asked for interested members to consider joining the Committee. He acknowledged that the Society sometimes struggled with communications and said that the Society would be advertising for a volunteer to develop social media communications and the web site.
The Society’s planning advisor, Jed Griffiths, MA DipTP FRTPI, gave an update on the Local Plan and answered questions.
The Council officers had been overwhelmed by the response to their new call for sites in January. As well as 79 sites being re-submitted, 65 new sites had been offered. It had been impossible for the officers to carry out the required appraisals in the time available and a new timetable had now been agreed. The identity of the sites would not be revealed until after the local elections in May when there will be a public consultation. Officers would present the outcomes to the Council in September; the public examination sessions with the Inspector would take place in December with a view to the Plan being adopted in Spring 2020. The Society would respond to the consultation once the identity of the new sites had been published.
Guest Speaker
The guest speaker at the AGM was Professor David Church, Deputy Principal of the Royal Veterinary College.
Professor Church gave an overview of the College’s work, its reputation as, now, the number one Vet College in the world and the plans for new facilities at the Hawkshead Campus in accordance with the development Master Plan approved recently by the Council. He also outlined the extent of the College’s local land ownership and spoke about the land that had been put forward to the Council for development in the Local Plan.
Responding in a lively question session, Professor Church confirmed that the College is not relying on the proceeds of land sales to fund the improvements at Hawkshead Lane Campus and that the lands of Boltons Farm are required long term for teaching and husbandry.
Gary Mabbutt thanked Professor Church for his excellent presentation which was warmly applauded by the members.
The Society and the College will maintain a dialogue as the local plan process continues.
MARCH UPDATE
Our AGM Newsletters are out for delivery and should be coming through your letter boxes within the next week or so. Please click here to view.
Subscriptions for 2019 are now due. Please join or renew your annual subscription – details of payment are shown in our Newsletter.
As we went to print with our Newsletter, the Council Officers are reviewing the new sites and new timetable. The 66 entirely new sites and 77 re-promoted new sites that were submitted far exceeded expectations, which means that it is not possible to conclude the intended consultation stage before pre-elections start on 26 March 2019. This will result in a short delay to the agreed timetable, such that presentation of results and recommendations to members could take place in September 2019 and examination hearing sessions could take place in December 2019.
The Council has also received a letter from the Inspector asking them to consider a quicker timetable than the one they originally submitted to him.
FEBRUARY UPDATE
AGM Monday 25 March 2019 8pm North Mymms Memorial Hall, 36 Station Road, Welham Green
Please come and join us at our AGM which will be chaired by our Honorary President Gary Mabbutt MBE on the 25 March at 8 pm in the North Mymms Memorial Hall, 36 Station Road, Welham Green. Proceedings will include a QandA session on latest developments on the Local Plan with our Planning consultant, Jed Griffiths, MA DipTP FRTPI. This will be followed by a talk by Professor David Church, Deputy Principal, Royal Veterinary College.
LOCAL PLAN UPDATE
Following a meeting of the Cabinet Planning and Parking Panel (CPPP) in mid-December, the Council decided that it need more development sites to be able to reach the housing target of 16,000. It published a new timetable which envisages adoption of the plan in Spring 2020. Click here to view.
NOVEMBER 2019 UPDATE
To view a Progress and Other Issues Report prepared by our Planning Consultant, Jed Griffiths click here
September 2018
GREEN BELT REVIEW
As part of the Public Examination of the Local Plan, the Inspector, asked Welwyn Hatfield Council to carry out an additional review of the Green Belt in the Borough.
This Green Belt Review was published at the end of August with a very short window for comment until the 18 September.
Worryingly, the report assesses two locations in North Mymms – Swanley Bar and Bell Bar – as places where future development would cause only “moderate harm” to the Green Belt.
Click here to see our comments prepared by planning consultant Jed Griffiths on this crucial and disturbing report.
The Inspector has set aside Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 November for hearing sessions to discuss the Green Belt Review. We shall attend with Jed Griffiths.
The Stage 6 hearing sessions, which will deal with the sites proposed in the Draft Plan, have been provisionally scheduled for week commencing 10 December.
The Green Belt Review is long and detailed and confusing. If you want to delve further, you may find it helpful to look at the maps in the “Figures” volume and, in the “Appendices” volume, the sections on Sites 53 through to 83 which broadly cover the area from Bullens Geen to Little Heath.
You can access the Green Belt Review at http://www.welhat.gov.uk/article/6938/Examination-Documents
The Green Belt Review documents, towards the bottom of the page, are:
EX88A Note to accompany Welwyn Hatfield Green Belt Study Stage 3
EX88B Welwyn Hatfield Green Belt Study Stage 3 Main Report
EX88C Welwyn Hatfield Green Belt Study Stage 3 Figures
EX88D Welwyn Hatfield Green Belt Study Stage 3 Appendices
GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATIONS – effective from the 25 May 2018
As a member organisation we are required to advise our members about the information we collect and how it is used. Please click here to view our Privacy Statement
WHBC LOCAL PLAN EXAMINATION STAGE 4
The dates for Stage 4 of the Local Plan Examination have been announced:
Thursday 26 June – Thursday 28 June 2018
Friday 29 June – Reserve session
Please click here for further details.
AGM 2018 Follow Up
As promised in our AGM note below please click here to see Richard Knox-Johnston’s Power Point presentation highlighting his talk from that evening.
AGM 2018
Our AGM took place on 26 March which was presided over by our President, Gary Mabbutt MBE.
Amongst the 80 or so attendees were several local Parish, Borough an County Councillors.
The Officers and Committee Members were re-elected for a further year.
Our planning consultant, Jed Griffiths gave an up date on the progress of the public examination of the Local Plan.
The Stage 3 sessions on topic Specific and Development Management Policies were held in the WHBC Council Chamber on 20, 21 and 22 February. The hearings can be viewed on the council’s webcasts by clicking .here.
The Stage 4 hearing sessions are scheduled to take place during weeks commencing 18 and 25 June. Details of the programme and the Inspector’s matters an issues for these hearing sessions will be available after Easter.
According to the Programme Officer, the Inspector is aware that the new Green Belt Review will not be ready until the end of June and that it is likely to raise new issues relating to housing land supply. He is prepared to hold additional hearings, probably in September, to consider those matters.
The Chairman of the London Green Belt Council, Richard Knox-Johnston, was the main guest speaker. He spoke of the Green Belt not just as a protection against urban sprawl but as an important contributor to the well-being both physical and mental, of an urban-dwelling population.
Richard’s full talk will be on our website shortly. Meanwhile you can find details of the London Green Belt Council (of which NMDGBS is a member) by clicking here.
RIP
We are very sad to report that our Vice President, Clive Bennett has died after a brave struggle against cancer.
Clive was a founder member of our Committee. He was a passionate defender of the Green Belt in North Mymms with a wealth of local knowledge. We shall miss him sorely.
PLEASE NOTE MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR 2018 ARE NOW DUE – click here to sign up online . THE NMDGBS WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR INVALUABLE SUPPORT. IT IS MUCH APPRECIATED.
LOCAL PLAN UPDATE – MARCH
As you are all aware the Local Plan Examination Hearings are well under way and we are now approaching Stage 3 of the Examination. Following the Stage 2 Hearing please click here to view an interesting document prepared by The Inspector regarding the expansion of the WHBC Green Belt Review.
Stage 3 will be concerned with the topic-based policies in the Local Plan. Please click here for details of the next hearing session. However the main interest for our Parish will be in Stage 4, which will examine the site allocations.
To view a Progress and Other Issues Report prepared by our Planning Consultant, Jed Griffiths click here
LOCAL PLAN EXAMINATION HEARINGS Stage 2 Overarching Strategy
24 to 27 October 2017 – 10.00 – 18.00
Council Chamber, Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council Offices, Welwyn Garden City, AL8 6AE
Please click here to view our Statement in response to questions raised by the Inspector. Our Planning Consultant, Jed Griffiths, will be speaking on our behalf at these hearings.
Government issue a Planning Consultation white paper
This consultation seeks views on a number of changes to planning policy and legislation. There are some alarming proposals including:
- building most houses in the more unaffordable areas
- capping authorities to no more than a 40% increase to existing plans – a possible 5,000 to 6,000 more homes on top of the 12,000 to 15,000 already in the plan
To read the whole paper click here
We shall be responding to the Consultation before the deadline of 9 November and will post our comments. Members can respond individually using the response pro-forma included within the Consultation Paper.
SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER
Our September Newsletter will be coming through your doors shortly. Please click here to view it.
LOCAL PLAN UPDATE
The Public Examination of the Local Plan starts on 21 September continuing through the Autumn. Mr Mel Middleton, the Appointed Inspector will test the Council’s draft Plan against legal requirements and consider comments and objections previously submitted. Our Society will be represented at the sessions with the help of our Planning Consultant, Jed Griffiths.
Due to the complexity of the Local Plan and number of representations received the Inspector has organised the hearing sessions into four distinct sessions and full details concerning this are available in his Guidance Notes at paras 19-28. All the hearing sessions will take place in the Council Chamber at the Welwyn Hatfield Council Offices, The Campus, Welwyn Garden City AL6 6AE and will start at 10.00am. Documents relevant to Stage 1 – Legal Soundness and Duty to Co-operate – of the hearing sessions are listed below:
- EX06 Inspector’s Issues and Questions for Stage 1 of the Hearing Sessions click here
- EX07 Inspector’s Guidance Notes click here
- EX08 Draft Hearings programme V1 of the Examination in Public of the Welwyn Hatfield Local Plan click here
Stage 2: Overarching Strategy & Associated Polices is scheduled for 24 – 27 October and 1 – 3 November. Details of the issues and questions for the hearing sessions in October and November will be sent out at the end of the first week of September.
Stage 2: Topic Specific Policies and Stage 4: Settlement and Site Allocations – dates to be announced.
This is a crucial stage of the Local Plan process. The Inspector could recommend an increase in the Council’s target of 12,000 houses, if he feels that is insufficient. The latest projections up to 2031, based on 2014 statistics, indicate a housing number requirement of 15,200. Click here to keep in touch with the progress of the Examination and scroll to the tab entitled ‘Latest News and Updates’
March 2017
Annual Subscriptions NOW DUE
Please note that your annual subscriptions are now overdue. Details for payment are on our website under Membership. Please check out our direct debit payment methods.
Local Plan
The Welwyn Hatfield Local Plan has just completed a significant stage. On the 16 March the Council’s Cabinet Housing and Planning Panel considered the public responses to the Draft Plan published last Autumn. They approved the draft with no material changes and sent it to the full Council for approval and submission for public examination. Further details and what this means for North Mymms can be seen on our Local Plan page.
Recent Interesting Articles
See below link in the February edition of The Ecologist “Green Belt must not be sacrificed to unplanned housing”
July 2016
We attended the Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council meeting of the Cabinet Housing Planning Panel on 13 June 2016 where ALL the sites recommended by the Planning Officers for the Draft Local Plan were voted in favour of (with the inclusion of additional site Hat11) by the six Conservative Councillors, including Brookmans Park and Little Heath ward councillor Stephen Boulton (Chairman). The three Labour Councillors and one Lib/Dem Councillor voted against.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR NORTH MYMMS?
The following are the recommended sites:
WELHAM GREEN:
WeG4b Marshmoor – 80 dwellings and 40,500m2 of employment land
GTLAA01 Foxes Lane – 12 pitches
Hat11 Land at Southway (next to New Barnfield) – 120 dwellings
BROOKMANS PARK:
BrP4 Land west of Brookmans Park – 250 dwellings
BrP13 West of Golf Club Road – 14 dwellings
BRP14 East of Golf Club Road – 10 dwellings
LITTLE HEATH:
BrP7 Hawkshead Road (on a reduced site area) – 100 dwellings
LHe1 Land north of Hawkshead Road – 35 dwellings
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
The next Cabinet Housing Planning Panel meeting will be on 14 July 2016 when the Councillors will be approving the Final Draft. We will be attending and will keep you informed.
The Draft Local Plan will have a final Public Consultation in the summer.
As soon as we have the final details we will be holding Public meetings in Welham Green and Brookmans Park and will keep you informed with our newsletter.
CONFUSED?
Although all the Welham Green sites are considered suitable, they have not been put forward because of limited primary school capacity and no alternative site has been identified to deliver an expanded school.
Recently reports in the Welwyn Hatfield Times have suggested the inclusion of WeG15 Potterells in the Draft Local Plan. The original proposal for Potterells does not not have a primary school but Colin Haigh, Head of Planning, revealed at the 13 June 2016 Cabinet Housing Planning Panel meeting that they have now received a letter from the site promotor for a proposed school. We have queried this with Planning and have been advised that the proposal came in too late to be included in the Local Plan. It could be raised during the consultation period and maybe during the Inspector’s examination.
We will be monitoring this situation and will keep you informed.
The Planning Officers have stated that if WeG15 Potterells came forward then it could include WeG3 Welham Manor – 45 dwellings (potential for 64 subject to alternative access arrangements) with access from Potterells.
February 2016
AGM
Please note Newsletters will be coming through your door shortly advising that our AGM is to be held on Monday 21 March at the United Reformed Church in Brookmans Park at 8pm. Our speaker this year will be planning consultant Jed Griffiths. Jed has been employed by us to assist in the preparation and presentation with regard to the WHBC Local Plan and he will be talking about this and explaining the situation so far. Do come along.
Annual Subscriptions
Our Annual Subscriptions are now due. Please enrol or renew your annual membership for 2016 by using the following options:-
- download a Membership Renewal Form from our Website
- fill in the Membership Application Renewal Form on our Newsletter
- bank transfer
- bring your subscription(s) to our AGM on the 21 March.
Please also let us have your email details so we can keep you up-to-date with current issues. Remember the larger our membership the stronger our voice.
Look forward to seeing you at the AGM.
January 2016
As you know the Society is run by volunteers who give as much time as they can to support the preservation of the Green Belt.
There are several roles that are outside the scope of the committee members and this is a “call to arms” to see who of you out there can be of assistance.
The fight to preserve and protect the Green Belt grows ever demanding and in several instances professional services are required. The Society has a limited fund and as you probably are aware we spent a substantial sum in the fight against the Incinerator.
As you know we have already recruited the services of a Planning Consultant to help us prepare our response to the Second Consultation of the Local Plan but we need people who are able to assist in assessing and evaluating situations that require in depth knowledge, i.e. a Civil Engineer to advise on matters regarding construction and possible flood risk.
If you have any skills that you believe may assist in the protection of the Green Belt please contact our secretary Carol McCarthy on greenbeltnorthmymms@hotmail.co.uk
We greatly appreciate any help and assistance that you can give in this ongoing battle.
As you may recall in our November update, subscriptions for 2016 are due from 1 January 2016. We depend on your support to help us fight to retain our precious Green Belt. In order to do so we need the help of as many Parishioners as possible. So if you are already a member then please renew your subscription or if you are not a member then please join. We would also like you to ask you neighbours to join as well. Application forms can be downloaded from our website and the completed form, along with your subscription can be dropped in to ‘Incidentals’ in Welham Green, ‘Brookmans Park News’ or posted with a cheque made payable to NMDGBS to Mrs A Higgens, 8 Bluebridge Avenue, Brookmans Park, Hatfield AL9 7RZ. You can also pay by standing order (bank details on application form) which would ensure your continued support for the years to come
November 2015
There are many things to be proud of living in the Parish of North Mymms. The Royal Veterinary College is one of them. The six-acre Royal Veterinary College Hawkshead Campus is situated in rolling Green Belt land between Brookmans Park and Potters Bar.
It is recognised as the oldest college of its type, training vets and treating animals of all shapes and sizes. It is not unusual to drive down Hawkshead Road and to find yourself being eyed up by a large doe eyed Alpaca.
However…..One of the most important events this month was a presentation by the RVC to Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council at a Development Consultation Forum on the 2 November of their Master Plan for the Hawkshead Campus.
The Consultation Forum enables councillors and the public to obtain more information and understanding about proposed large scale planning applications. It does not bind members or the council to a decision but is a fact finding exercise for councillors to ask questions and identify major issues. Councillors cannot express an opinion at the Forum about the development or the proposals
The RVC explained their plans to expand by 400 students and increase the size of the site by about one third. This is not a planning application but an explanation of their intentions and will include much needed updating of existing buildings. The information they gave was restricted to the Campus and did not include their wider land holdings in the area. At the meeting, while we expressed our recognition of the RVC’s significance to the area, we registered our concerns regarding the urbanisation of this site, the risk of further encroachment into the Green Belt and the risk of coalescence between Potters Bar and Brookmans Park. We urged the RVC to produce plans for the whole of their local estate.
As you are all aware, the RVC have submitted development proposals in the Welwyn Hatfield Local Plan for 297 dwellings on Green Belt land immediately north of their site, 225 dwellings immediately east of their site and 40 dwellings on the west of the site. How these proposals might affect their Campus development was not explained. As well as the RVC proposals, an independent developer has submitted a planning application to Hertsmere Borough Council for a 20,000 panel Solar Farm located in the narrow Green Belt gap between Potters Bar and the RVC. If all these developments were allowed to go ahead, the result would have a catastrophic effect on this piece of Green Belt land.
Although the many residents of North Mymms are supportive of the work that the RVC carry out, it would be fair to say that this encroachment into the Green Belt could have serious repercussions with the erosion of the Belt becoming smaller and smaller until there is no division between Potters Bar, The RVC, Brookmans Park, Welham Green and Hatfield.
NMDGBS has already objected to previous applications, raising our concerns that the continued development of this site is harming the openness of the Green Belt and increasing urbanisation at the Campus, by virtue of elements such as lighting and harming the visual amenity of the Green Belt.
All of our members are fighting hard to retain our precious Green Belt. In order to do so we need the support of as many Parishioners as possible. All we ask is that you become a member of the Green Belt Society; this costs £1.00 per year per person. If you are not a member please join. If you are already a member please ask your neighbours to join. We do not ask you to become involved in the running of the committee or to attend any meetings, just your support by becoming a member and ensuring that your membership is renewed each year. Our subscriptions run from 1 January to 31 December. Please make a note in your diary to renew/join the North Mymms District Green Belt Society from the New Year. You will be preserving this beautiful part of the country for your children to enjoy.
Application forms can be downloaded from our website and the completed form, along with your subscription can be dropped in to ‘Incidentals’ in Welham Green, ‘Brookmans Park News’ or posted with a cheque made payable to NMDGBS to Mrs A. Higgens, 8 Bluebridge Avenue, Brookmans Park, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL9 7RZ.
October 2015
Can you remember what it was that first attracted you to live in the Parish of North Mymms. Was it the proximity to London, even though it feels as if it is the middle of the countryside? Was it the feeling of space, the schools, the local history, the idyllic walks, or the community?
It could have been any of these and all of them are valid reasons. North Mymms is an exceptional place to live as it offers a quality of life that is hard to find anywhere else. The North Mymms District Green Belt Society is battling hard to preserve this on your behalf.
The Green Belt is under greater threat now than it has ever been. The Local Plan First Consultation has taken place. Since the summer there have been 31 new proposed development sites submitted in North Mymms. This has bought the number of proposed dwellings to more than 2,500 – a quite staggering figure.
The Council Officers Report on the Consultation emphasises that the largest number of comments have come from residents in the Parish of North Mymms. Well done and keep them going.
We will be monitoring the situation and reporting to our members every month.
All of our members are fighting hard to retain our precious Green Belt. But in order to do so we need the support of as many Parishioners as possible. All we ask is that you become a member of the Green Belt Society; this costs £1 per year per person. We do not ask you to become involved in the running of the Committee or to attend any meetings, but we need your support as a member and ensuring that your membership is renewed each year. Our subscriptions run from 1 January to 31 December, please make a note in your diary to re-new/join the North Mymms District Green Belt Society from the New Year. You will be preserving this beautiful part of the country for your children to enjoy.
Application forms can be downloaded from our website and the completed form, along with your subscription can be dropped in to ‘Incidentals’ in Welham Green, Brookmans Park News or posted with a cheque made payable to NMDGB to Mrs A Higgens, 8 Bluebridge Avenue, Brookmans Park, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL9 7RZ
We need all the support we can get if we are to win this fight.
Remember, you chose to live here because……..