Local residents dismayed their efforts to prevent high rise development in Welwyn Garden City were in vain.
On 25 August the inspector sent back his decision on the Biopark and has granted permission for the development to go ahead.
Despite a monumental effort from members of the public and Councillors to see the development toned down and greater emphasis put on infrastructure and perceived local needs, this wasn’t enough to sway the inspector’s view that the developer has the right plan for the site.
The site will now be developed with mostly one to two bedroom units inside a high-rise which will be targeted for the private market.
On this subject the inspector notes “the developer has demonstrated that bringing in affordable units for sale would mean the site wouldn’t be viable for development”. Welwyn Hatfield Council policy has a minimum 30% new build requirement for affordable units however this can be lowered or removed if the developer can demonstrate that they can’t make enough money abiding by this.
The developer has offered to build 10% affordable units as a goodwill gesture.
A lack of parking provision was initially sited as another reason for refusal at the previous meeting of the planning committee. This argument was discounted prior to the appeal hearing however, as the development plans include provision for more parking spaces than the minimum requirement Welwyn Hatfield Council’s planning rules require.
Further on in the inspector’s decision paperwork he says that he understands the passion for the acclaimed and pioneering Garden City and the desire to protect and maintain the principles upon which it was founded. However he goes on to state that growth is necessary and that this sort of development is the “next phase in the cities[sic] evolution”.
It is not hard to miss the drop of the word Garden in that sentence.
Read the inspector’s decision in full here.
