The North Hertfordshire Local Plan governs local development decisions in our area. It is a contract between the Council and residents, managing future development and protecting our green spaces. When they passed the Local Plan, Labour and the Liberal Democrats committed to a review of it before the end of 2023, to make sure that it remains up to date. Now, they say that they won't even make a decision on whether they will review it until 2024.
But decisions that impact our communities are being made on the basis of the Local Plan right now - like the Highover Farm development in Hitchin. And Labour and the Lib Dems took an area for more than 3,000 houses on the edge of Stevenage in Wymondley, St. Ippolyts and Langley out of the greenbelt in the Local Plan - to have its future decided by the Local Plan Review. If we delay, opportunistic developers could start to decide the future of our communities, not local people.
I am calling on Labour and the Lib Dems to keep the promise that they made to you and begin a review of the Local Plan before the end of the year. Join me and send them a message to review the Plan using the form below.