This page is designed to keep the community up-to-date with developments regarding the progress of North Herts District Council’s Local Plan.
It is a process the Heritage Foundation is a part of, due to the inclusion in the Local Plan of sites in Letchworth, which are a part of our estate.
Since 2012 we have been working closely with the Council and the community to ensure decisions being made are open and transparent and take in to account the views of the town.
View the timeline of events for this process here - updated March 2021.
Latest progress
The Inspector held the final examination sessions at the beginning of February and confirmed that the Examination is now closed. The Council will undertake further consultation on modifications to the Plan and the Inspector will issue his report later in the year on the soundness of the Plan.
Public examination
North Herts District Council submitted the Local Plan to the Secretary of State and Independent Inspector, Simon Berkley, held a Public Examination between November 2017 and March 2018. The Independent Inspector issued North Hertfordshire District Council (NHDC) with his proposed modifications to the plan in November 2018 and these were published on the Council’s website on Monday 19 November 2018.
NHDC consulted on the Local Plan Main Modifications from Thursday 3 January to Monday 4 March 2019. This consultation also provided the opportunity to comment on the additional work produced by the Council in support of the Examination in Public and following the hearing sessions.
Further Examination sessions took place in late 2020 and in February 2021 in response to a series of queries raised by the Inspector. You can read further information on the Public Examination, including those made by the Heritage Foundation, on the Council's website.
Our role
As well as continuing to support the allocation of sites included in the Plan under our ownership, we will be doing the following:
- With our commitment to make use of brownfield sites, we will begin the planning of those identified in the Local Plan with a goal that, where it is possible, these sites are brought forward for development . We have already seen schemes being developed or planning applications submitted on the Foundation’s freehold at: St Michaels House, Norton Way South; Former Drill Hall site, Icknield Way; Town Lodge, Gernon Road; and Foundation House, Icknield Way.
Looking at the development of land to the north of Letchworth Garden City we will:
- Identify key issues including highways, transport, and access and start to review these matters in more detail, which will inform a strategic master plan for the site.
- In line with our values and principles we will begin the process of finding an appropriate partner to help bring forward this development, should it become adopted policy.
- Develop a communications plan, so that at the right time we are engaging with the local community and town as a whole regarding the development of this land.
- Work with stakeholders, such as the District and County Councils regarding the key components of the development of this site.
You can view our representations made as part of the Local Plan process by clicking on the button.
Community consultation
Read more about our community consultation activities during 2017 and 2019.
Land to the east of Talbot Way
This site is referred to as Site LG3 in the North Herts Local Plan. The Foundation has submitted an outline planning application to enable the Council to determine if the principle of the development of this site is acceptable. This is in order to respond to the scenario that the Inspector considers the Plan to be sound later this year.
In 2019 we undertook a community engagement exercise on this site and completed the final stage of consultation in January 2021 to understand further views before the submission of an outline planning application. Read more out more about our ideas here.
