Latest news with #StAlbansCity&DistrictCouncil
BBC News
19-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Harpenden housing development given go-ahead despite objections
Plans to build 550 homes in Hertfordshire have been approved despite concerns about the impact on the green belt and planning committee at St Albans City & District Council voted by five votes to four to grant outline planning permission for the development in Harpenden, according to the Local Democracy Reporting site, covering green belt fields alongside Cooters End Lane and Ambrose Lane, will include 420 homes - about half of which will be affordable - and 130 retirement application was for outline permission only with full details of the development to be confirmed in further applications. More than 1,800 public objections to the plans were received over three for the land were initially put forward by Legal & General in 2023 but have been revised to include social rented housing and increase the percentage of affordable the affordable housing, 46% will be for affordable home ownership, 39% for affordable rent and 15% for social site will also include a nursery for up to 110 children, two sports pitches, communal park, allotments and play development will not include any new schools after Hertfordshire County Council said they were not needed, but the developer will be required to pay £9.5m towards education in the area. Planning officers recommended that councillors grant permission and judge whether the site fits the government's new definition of "grey belt" land, which is easier to gain permission to build on than green their view, the site did not "strongly contribute" to the green belt's purposes, including restricting sprawl and preventing towns from planning committee's chair, Edgar Hill, said the council had been left "extremely vulnerable" due to the lack of an up-to-date Local Plan and its low housing land supply.A new Local Plan for St Albans district has been submitted to the government for examination but has not yet been formally means that it is more difficult for the authority to block proposed 2023-24, only 330 homes were built in St Albans district, significantly lower than the new government target of 1,660 per year.
BBC News
12-02-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Car park permit issued for people in St Albans who dislike apps
A new parking permit is being introduced to help people over the age of 70 who have difficulty using digital payment methods such as mobile phone of the St Albans district can apply for an Access Permit which costs £190 a year and is valid for one visit a day for up to three hours at 15 off-street car car parks included in the scheme are at Drover's Way, Russell Avenue, the Civic Centre, Westminster Lodge and Verulamium in St Albans, and Amenbury Lane in Harpenden."There is no statutory duty placed on us to provide such a permit, and I am not aware of any councils that do, so this is quite an innovation," said Helen Campbell, councillor for car parks at St Albans City & District Council. "Many of our older citizens are more than happy to pay by contactless cards or apps, but there are some who struggle with these modern methods."The Access Permit will help by providing them with a more traditional way of paying. "The price of £190 per year is designed to reflect a fair price for an average driver over a year's use." Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
