Homes plan for former gasworks site turned down

A housing developer has been denied permission to build nearly 500 homes on a former gasworks site in Hertfordshire that has been derelict for almost 30 years.

Dacorum Borough Council's planning committee voted against granting permission for the land near Hemel Hempstead railway station, despite officers recommending approval for the plan.

Councillors cited the height of the buildings, which would have up to 10 storeys, as the reason for refusal, despite officers warning there was a risk of costs being awarded against the council if the developer successfully appealed against the decision.

Berkeley Homes confirmed at the meeting on Thursday that it would be appealing against the rejection.

Eight per cent of the 476 one and two-bedroom flats would have been designated as affordable, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

That number was well below the council's expectation of 35%, but the developer said the project would not have been financially viable with a higher percentage, given the decontamination costs involved in making the site suitable for housing.

Dacorum has a housing land supply of only 1.69 years, which is well below the required minimum of five years, and the gasworks site had been identified in the borough's draft Local Plan as a "brownfield regeneration opportunity".

The committee's decision came just days after the government proposed reforms intended to help prevent developments being rejected against officer advice "only to be overturned on appeal, delaying appropriate development and wasting taxpayers' money".

Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said overhauling planning rules to bypass local authorities would remove "chaos and subjectiveness" from the system.

The changes would give local authority planning officers the power to rubberstamp development proposals without permission from committees, as long as they comply with locally agreed plans and national regulations.

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