North Hertfordshire District Council
Local Plan 2031

North Herts Local Plan update - March 2021

NHDC has to prepare a Local Plan to 2031 for the whole district and to identify housing land for at least the next 5 years. The NHDC Local Plan sets targets for the number of new homes in Knebworth and says where they should be built. It also includes policies which are used to make decisions on planning applications.

NHDC also decide on planning applications, as they are the Local Planning Authority. Planning applications have been difficult for them to reject without an up-to-date Local Plan or a five-year housing supply. This was one of the reasons we lost the Station Pub garden planning appeal.

The new NHDC Local Plan is now nearly complete. It has been examined by a planning inspector and the final changes to it are due soon; we expect them to be minor. The NHDC Local Plan includes three large sites put forward by landowners almost 10 years ago. These are:

• KB1 (Deards End Lane) and KB2 (Gipsy Lane) to the west of Knebworth village; and
• KB4 (Swangleys Lane, Old Lane & Watton Road) to the east.

These are all on land in the Green Belt today. The NHDC Local Plan will change that, by making the village boundary bigger. Further information is here.

When the NHDC Local Plan is approved, the loss of Green Belt land at these sites will be confirmed. We expect that, within months, landowners will then seek planning permission for these new developments.

Knebworth Parish Council has a long-standing policy of opposing building on Green Belt land. We have objected to Green Belt boundary changes at every opportunity.

Below are a few documents relating to the NHDC Local Plan. Please go to the NHDC website to view all relevant documents.