In August’s Parish News we were warned to expect a consultation on North Herts District Council’s Development Control Policies and Preferred Options for the Local Development Framework to commence at the end of September. I don’t know what the Regional Spatial Strategy and North Herts District Council have in store for us, but if we are required to make a sacrifice to the needs of the wider community, I want as much benefit for our parish as possible.
As a long-term resident, I want the problems solved that are beyond local authority budgets – congestion in our High Street, the threatened loss of our Doctor’s Surgery, the inadequacy of our school provision, the preservation of our heritage – and I want development that is not about squeezing as many residences as possible into the smallest possible space. But money dictates, you say – then let’s take money out of the equation by offering land to North Herts District Council where all proceeds go to Parish charities. We can offer as little or as much as suits the community, depending on how green we want our development and how many problems we want to solve.
It was this sort of thinking that led to my little speech in the Village Hall this time last year. If the Local Development Framework requires village-edge development on Knebworth Estates land, the Estate will look to donate 100% of the proceeds to Knebworth Parish charities, as long as the Knebworth House Education and Preservation Trust is a priority. The offer still stands. I want to keep our green fields, but I also want to keep our high street, our doctors, our school kids and our four-star historic house. If we are faced with a negative, let’s turn it into a positive.
Henry Lytton Cobbold
www.knebworthhouse.com