Agenda item

Cllr Harden noted that the item was to specifically look at the two sites within their ownership.

ARobinson presented the report, noting that they would be looking at the production of two management plans for Bunkers Park and Chipperfield Common. ARobinson advised that, in order to release the moratorium, developers need to identify alternative land and that management plans need to be prepared for these. ARobinson also highlighted that the management plans have been developed closely with colleagues, particularly Clean, Safe and Green, and that they are in close consultation with Natural England. Once the management plans are adopted, there should be around a 4,000-unit capacity for new homes. ARobinson added that the lifting of the moratorium will only be partial.

Cllr Sutton commended the report, particularly the plan for Bunkers Park. Cllr Sutton noted that travellers have accessed the site on a number of occasions and asked if they would be ensuring they would not be able to access the site again. ARobinson advised that the management plans have been set up with the input of a number of departments and they will ensure that they do not open up the sites to adverse impacts, including those accessing the sites who shouldn't be. ARobinson stated that they need to focus on a balance between improving accessibility of the site whilst also not weakening its protection.

Cllr Sutton noted that the main issue regarding dog fouling are those bringing multiple dogs to the site and that she was unsure how they would prevent this. ARobinson advised that there is a wider educational piece around this and that they are looking to improve signage and bins. ARobinson agreed that there is a discussion to be had around the use of enforcement officers in the future. Cllr Banks commented on the consultation around the PSPO regarding dogs and control of dogs, noting that they have been alerted to the issues around professional dog walkers as a concern and that officers are looking at how to restrict the number of dogs per walker. Cllr Banks asked for any specific issues regarding dog fouling to be reported.

Cllr Timmis referred to the development of 4,000 units following the identification of the 2 SANGs and noted that they are existing commons. ARobinson clarified that there are currently 2,500 homes with planning permission or going through the planning system and are on hold due to the moratorium. An upgraded network of sites to SANG standard has to be provided to allow the backlog to be improved, and there will be additional capacity for further development. ARobinson confirmed that the SANGs will allow them to theoretically provide new homes for the borough, though it will not mean they will grant 4,000 units.

Cllr Timmis commented that her understanding was that they would have SANGs so people will not just be using Chiltern Beechwoods, and therefore if a development is brought in, a green space would need to be provided that residents are more likely to use. Cllr Timmis stated that Bunkers Park and Chipperfield Common are existing spaces for people to use and that introducing more housing would mean people are impacting other parts of the environment. ARobinson advised that Bunkers Park and Chipperfield Common have a certain level of accessibility and infrastructure and that the management plans set out how to improve them and make them more inviting spaces for residents. RLeydon added that they are not looking to stop people using Ashridge, though if they can encourage them to use other sites then they can reduce the impact on the site. Cllr Timmis commented that they are turning areas into parks and will therefore have the same impact as they are seeing on Ashridge. Cllr Timmis added that her understanding was that SANGs should be new spaces to balance the impact of a new development. It was confirmed that no additional capacity is currently being added and that they are not proposing changing Bunkers Park or Chipperfield Common.

Cllr Timmis commented that the SANG should be green space that relates to the number of new developments to ensure there is no additional impact on Ashridge and therefore using existing spaces as SANGs means they are not providing anything new for the new development. Cllr Harden clarified that the highlighted spaces are for existing developments and that new homes will require new spaces. ARobinson agreed, explaining that the current homes are in the system and this is the response to the issue regarding Ashridge.

Cllr Harden noted that Natural England want to divert people away from Ashridge and therefore they will be potentially damaging other areas. Cllr Harden queried why Tring Park was not included as a site. ARobinson confirmed that Tring Park is part of the SAC. RLeydon added that Tring Park is a SSSI and that the site is currently improving due to a number of interventions made. Cllr Harden noted that Bunkers Park and Chipperfield Common are not as popular and therefore there is the capacity to allow more visitors. RLeydon agreed, adding that they consider any environmental impacts and will take steps to protect the most important features within these spaces. It was noted that there will be ongoing monitoring with regular reporting on how the management plans are performing and how the site is responding, with the opportunity to make changes in the event of any unintended consequences. It was also noted that the SANGs are the first of many that will come forward over the next 15-20 years and there will be a pipeline of new sites through growth of sites or the council or landowners bringing forward SANGs.

Cllr Foster commented that once a site is declared as a SANG then any development within 5km could go ahead. ARobinson advised that the initial capacity created will be finite and that they will see demand from developers. The protocol to address this is under development and a range of factors will be considered, such as the nature of proposals, location and how it conforms with local policy, and not everyone will be awarded SANG capacity in the short-term.

ARobinson advised that developments in Hemel Hempstead are more likely to be able to progress sooner, while those further away, particularly those over 9 units, will not progress as this is the threshold where you need to be located within the 5km catchment of the SANG.

Cllr Foster asked if the management plan for Bunkers Park and Chipperfield Common need to be completed before progressing with development. ARobinson confirmed that they need to have the management plan to be agreed and developers need to commit to a programme. The works do not need to be implemented before development commences but they will need a strong prospect that it will be delivered within a reasonable timescale.

In response to a question on whether there was the potential for staged build outs for developments under 10 units, ARobinson stated that they need to recognise there will be a number of developments that will continue to be restricted and will therefore need to work closely with the developers on creative solutions. ARobinson continued that this will be approached on a case-by-case basis to look at location and the number of units.

Cllr Wilkie thanked the team for the report, commenting that her understanding was that they required a mitigation strategy in order to lift the moratorium and that it now appeared that they could identify SANGs to release the backlog of planning applications. Cllr Timmis asked if no development over 9 units would be released as part of the lifting of the moratorium. ARobinson stated that this was not necessarily the case.

Cllr Wilkie acknowledged the SANG criteria, stating that this did not make the site like-for-like with Ashridge and Chiltern Beechwoods and that people would still be drawn to these places. Cllr Wilkie noted her concern regarding the belief that the 2 SANGs would help divert people away from Ashridge and Chiltern Beechwoods.

ARobinson provided an overview of the mitigation strategy, stating that it consists of a number of aspects, of which SANG is one. The majority of the mitigation strategy is around the payments made to the National Trust to mitigate the impact on the woodlands, with SANG then being the second element. ARobinson advised that SANG is not to replicate Ashridge and is instead to offer an alternative to help reduce the visits to Ashridge. SANG will be either delivered through a large community development with a SANG onsite, though these will not come forward in the short-term, and therefore the short-term solution is to identify council-owned land. These sites will provide a solution that has been caught up by the moratorium. ARobinson continued that additional SANG sites will be required in the future, though this will only deal with larger growth and a solution will be required for smaller units as it will be challenging for these developers to provide their own SANG.

Looking at the thresholds, ARobinson advised that a development of more than 10 units needs to be located within the catchment of a SANG, and Natural England have stated that a floating capacity can be provided for developments of 1-9 units. For these smaller developments, this means that they can proceed in most parts of the borough, and for those over 10 units, they can only be released in and around Hemel Hempstead as they are within the 5km catchment of Bunkers Park and Chipperfield Common.

Cllr Wilkie commented that if any developer tried to appeal to court proceedings then they could confidently say that they have no right to appeal as there is no mitigation strategy. Cllr Wilkie stated that there is still no mitigation strategy, though they have 2 SANGs and will therefore allow applications to go through. ARobinson advised that the umbrella mitigation strategy set out the SAM tariff and that this report was slotting in the SANG items, and once these are both complete then there will be a mitigation strategy in place.

Cllr Stevens referred to the floating SANG capacity and asked if this could be ring-fenced for DBC planning applications. ARobinson confirmed that they could.

Cllr Banks referred to a conversation with a resident who had visited Ashridge and that it was noted that the coffee shop is open again. Cllr Banks asked if Ashridge are not taking the issue seriously then why should they forsake Bunkers Park and Chipperfield Common. It was noted that Ashridge are putting in measures to prevent car parking. Cllr Harden noted the attraction of Ashridge and queried how the council could create a similar woodland. It was noted that they will look at the next round of sites and they may look at acquisition of land or working with other authorities.

The Committee noted the report.