Marshcroft Planning Application

Documents providing Background and Content for a letter to MP Gagan Mohindra

Grove Field Residents Association (GFRA) report that the revised Dacorum Council draft local plan (which will be coming out for consultation very soon) will NOT include any of the fields between Station Road and Bulbourne Road. Whilst this is excellent news the massive development will still go ahead if the Secretary of State (Michael Gove) finds in favour of Redrow as a result of the planning appeal.   Therefore, it is important now more than ever that you email Gagan Mohindra and let him know that you object to this planning application. Please do not leave your email any longer on the basis that others will send one, we need everyone to send an email please. We need Gagan to lobby Michael Gove on the basis that the local plan does not and will not include these fields and that there is significant local opposition.  GFRA.

email gagan.mohindra.mp@parliament.uk

Update from Grove Fields Residents Association 4th February 2024

Dear Members,

Since we last updated you on the timetable for reaching a decision on the Grove Fields Appeal, we have now heard that the date has been put back again from the 15th of January to the 15th of March.

The reason given for the delay was so that the eventual decision could take into account the changes proposed for the National Planning Policy Framework made by Mr Gove in Parliament on the 19th of December.

We don’t think it’s unfair to say that the new Policy is a bit of a juggling act.   It wants to deliver on building 300,000 new homes a year whilst still providing ‘clearer protection’ for the Green Belt.  However, there is much that we should welcome for Tring and that strengthens our opposition to the Grove Fields development.  The new National Planning Framework gives more flexibility and resource to Local Authorities in relation to local housing need; clarifies a ‘ local lock’ on changes to Green Belt boundaries; safeguards Local Plans from densities that would be wholly out of character and bolsters protections from speculative developments for neighbourhoods that develop their own plans.  

However for Dacorum, this move towards greater local accountability and enhanced protection of the Green Belt is not as clear as it might be.  Currently, our Council’s Local Plan is not finalised.  The first version that had to deliver the Central government much criticised mandated housing numbers was quite rightly universally opposed by Residents. The second version proposes a much more realistic new housing plan for Tring that takes into account the new houses created in Roman Park and proposes that the only additional housing estate would be on the Dunsley Farm site owned by Herts County Council.  Whilst the new Dacorum Plan has gone through its consultation phase, it has yet to become the final, agreed Local Plan.  It is this lack of a final Plan that gives Developers like Redrow a greater ability to challenge, through the appeal process, the rejection of their plans.

The letter that we received notifying us of the delayed decision date asked all parties to the Appeal for their comments on this new planning background.  It only gave us two weeks to do so which hasn’t given us enough time for a wider consultation with Members.  We thought it was very important that our Residents’ voice continued to be heard and so with our Partners in the Combined Objectors’ Group and particularly with the Council for the Protection of Rural England, we managed to submit our views in time to meet the deadline. Our letter is attached.

As always if  you have any thoughts or queries, please do get in touch.

Yours sincerely,
The GFRA Committee  

Closure of Planning Enquiry and closing Statement

The Inquiry in to building 1,400 houses on the Marshcroft Lane fields has finished.

Together with our partners CPRE Hertfordshire and the Chiltern Society we have submitted our formal Closing Statement (attached), through our barrister.

Following the conclusion of the Inquiry, the Planning Inspector will write up his findings and his recommendation. This will go the Secretary of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities who will make the decision on the case. There is no prescribed timetable for this, and we anticipate it could take 6 to 9 months or even longer before we will know the outcome.

During this next phase we have been advised to lobby politicians in order to influence the final decision. We will be discussing this with CPRE Hertfordshire and the Chiltern Society and we will agree a coordinated approach. If you have experience of lobbying politicians then please get in touch.

Meanwhile, we are hugely grateful to the more than 400 individuals who donated to our Marshcroft campaign – thank you all! Your generosity means that we reached our £30,000 fundraising target which allowed our Combined Objectors Group to retain the external specialists who have been so valuable in making our case and presenting the evidence.

Thank you for your continued support.

Yours faithfully,

The GFRA Committee: Graham Bright (Chair), Robert Winter (Treasurer), Steve Ballantyne, Dimitri Patrikios, Peter Davidson and Keith Baker.

Grove Fields Residents Association

 Update 28th March

Dear Members and Friends of the Grove Fields Residents Association,

There has been schedule changes to the topics of discussion on upcoming days - please keep an eye on the link provided: Public inquiries (dacorum.gov.uk)

In a nutshell (as it stands):

1. If you want to hear about our defence of the landscape and views to/from the AONB then this starts tomorrow - 28/3
2. If you want to hear about the planning arguments for/against building on the green belt then this starts next week - 4/4

People have asked which days are best to attend, this is really a personal choice. However, your donations are being put to best use this week and next.

Therefore, the short answer is anytime over the next two weeks is best, I'd recommend going on either the 28/3 or the 4/4 so you can hear the start of the arguments and then if time permits you can follow the arguments and counter arguments on subsequent days.

Yours faithfully,

The GFRA Committee 

Call for Attendees 19th March

Dear Members and Friends of the Grove Fields Residents Association,

Just a gentle nudge/reminder that the planning inquiry recommences Wednesday 22nd March. More detail is in the email below, however, for convenience:

1. The latest detail regarding the inquiry dates, times, location and agenda can be found by clicking this link: Public inquiries (dacorum.gov.uk)
2. If you cannot attend in person but would like to listen in then click the same link above, scroll down and click the 'View the inquiry online' button
3. If you would like to speak then please email HOLLY.DUTTON@planninginspectorate.gov.uk to request to do so.

The Planning Inspector is keen to see more public engagement in order to gauge the level of support/objection.

Yours faithfully,

The GFRA Committee Members: 

Latest update and request for public attendance:

From: Grove Fields <grovefields@virginmedia.com>
Date: 12 March 2023 at 13:37:20 GMT
Subject: Re: Fundraising update and Inquiry Details

Dear Members and Friends of the Grove Fields Residents Association,

The Planning Inspector has commented that he is anxious to see more public attendance and engagement at the Inquiry. Please do attend wherever possible. A number of you have emailed the GFRA with interesting questions and statements, please submit these directly to the planning inspector by emailing HOLLY.DUTTON@planninginspectorate.gov.uk. and if possible attend to read them out.

The Inquiry is not sitting this coming week but will recommence on Wednesday 22nd March.

Below are the key upcoming discussion topics :

• Wed 22nd from 2pm - Ecology (Liz from CPRE at 2pm), Built Heritage, Socio-economic
• Thurs 23rd from 9.30am - Highways (with Peter Davidson from GFRA), Education
• Fri 24th 9.30am - Agriculture, Energy& sustainability, Flood risk

The following week (28th - 31st March) is when our COG Planning Consultant and Barrister will be most engaged in debate as the discussion topics are focused on the landscape and green belt.

See the following link for details on times, location and how to watch the inquiry online if you cannot attend in person: Public inquiries (dacorum.gov.uk).

Please note that watching online does not provide you with the ability to speak or contribute in anyway - this can only be done in person. To attend the Inquiry it is as simple as just turning up, there is no need to register beforehand.

Yours faithfully,

The GFRA Committee Members: Graham Bright (Chair), Robert Winter (Treasurer), Steve Ballantyne, Dimitri Patrikios, Peter Davidson and Cllr. Keith Baker (Tring Council, Independent).

On 09/03/2023 17:22 Grove Fields <grovefields@virginmedia.com> wrote: 

Marshcroft Planning Application

Dear Members and Friends of the Grove Fields Residents Association,

The Appeal Hearing for the 1,400 house Marshcroft development is scheduled to start on the 7th of March. 

The original Planning application by Redrow Homes was turned down by Dacorum Council on a number of grounds most notably because of its position on Green Belt Land adjacent to the designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – and the scale of the development without sufficient funded community resources such as schools and medical facilities to service over 4,000 new Tring Residents.

However, we are faced with a very determined and well-funded Developer who are cynically exploiting the delay in producing the Dacorum Local Plan that would effectively rule out this kind of development.  Redrow have produced a 200 plus page report challenging Dacorum’s rejection of their application and they will be represented at the Appeal hearing by a Planning Kings Counsel and his Junior plus no less than 16 Expert Witnesses.  

To date, the GFRA, funded through your donations, have commissioned and submitted a report setting out why the original Dacorum rejection decision should be upheld.  Tring Town Council have also commissioned and submitted a detailed report on the Green Belt and Landscape issues of such a development.

The good news is that we are not alone in resisting this massive development.  We have been approached by CPRE Hertfordshire and the Chiltern Society to form a Community Objectors' Group (COG) that would jointly hire legal representation and an expert witness to represent us at the Appeal Hearing.  Faced with such a formidable opponent as Redrow, we feel we must match their ‘big guns’ in order to stand a good chance of defeating the Appeal.

As you can imagine, the cost of mounting this joint representation is not cheap.  We have a fundraising target of £30,000 for a Planning Barrister and an expert landscape witness.  Although this is a lot of money to raise, we are joined by two very powerful partners who will be raising money through their membership and additionally the CPRE Hertfordshire, as a registered Charity, are able to claim Gift Aid on donations.    

Can we ask you, once again, to be as generous as you can to add to our fighting fund in order for us to make a sizeable contribution to the group?  The details of how you can donate are provided on the CPRE Hertfordshire website, you can go there by clicking on the link below.  

Marshcroft Fundraising Appeal – Fighting Massive Green Belt Development - CPRE Hertfordshire (cpreherts.org.uk)

Yours faithfully,

The GFRA Committee Members: Graham Bright (Chair), Robert Winter (Treasurer), Steve Ballantyne, Dimitri Patrikios and Cllr. Keith Baker (Tring Council, Independent).

Grove Fields Residents Association

E: grovefields@virginmedia.com

W: grovefieldsresidents.com

T: 07722 240963