Possible locations for future housing and business developments in St Albans

An update from St Albans City & District Council


To help meet the forecasted shortfall in employment sites in St Albans City and District and to address the need for additional housing, SADCC's Council Cabinet decided that:

• the Building Research Establishment’s Bricket Wood site is to be included in the Core Strategy as a potential site for a sustainable Eco Park for BRE’s own use and other green businesses to provide employment in the District.
• Head of Planning should investigate the possibility of designating Roehyde Farm, Colney Heath as a possible high tech business park in the Core Strategy.
• Beaumont School playing fields and land, north of Winches Farm, St Albans should be included in the Core Strategy as a potential location for 130 homes, new school playing fields, some new school buildings and a new road access to the school.
• Nicholas Breakspear School, Coney Heath Lane, St Albans should be included in the Core Strategy as a potential location for approximately 200 homes and new buildings and playing fields for the school. However, further investigations as to access arrangements are being undertaken, including the suitability of Hixberry Lane as an access road.
• the Ridgeview site in Barnet Road, London Colney be considered in the Core Strategy for either A1 retailing use or housing development for which planning permission has already been obtained.

Cabinet was not satisfied that Oaklands College had provided sufficient evidence in support of its proposals to build 350 houses on the site to the south of Sandpit Lane, in St Albans as part of development plans for the college. It requested that the Council’s Head of Planning meet with the College to discuss reducing this number and to report back to Cabinet in June.


Proposals for housing development on the Building Research Establishment’s Bricket Wood site to help fund the Eco Park were rejected, but Cabinet asked the Head of Planning to consider increasing the amount of housing already designated for Harperbury Hospital Site to make up the shortfall. 


The Core Strategy is being drafted around some key themes to ensure that most development is located in the main urban areas; the Green Belt is protected (although land previously built on in the Green Belt will be able to be redeveloped) and provision is made for 250 new homes a year of which 100 will be affordable housing. A further progress report on the Core Strategy will now be made to Cabinet on 7 June and the final version of the pre-submission document will be put to Cabinet on 5 July and full Council on 20 July. A six week public consultation will then be held in September. The aim is to submit the proposed Core Strategy in January 2012 for a formal public examination to be presided over by a planning inspector.