WE NEED YOUR HELP TO PROTECT OUR RURAL COMMUNITY.
Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council (WHBC) has issued another call for housing sites as part of their new Local Plan. We urgently need you to submit an objection to prevent houses from being built on the fields along Ellenbrook Lane and Wilkins Green Lane.
Community voices carry immense weight in the planning process, and we must act now to stop this. The strict deadline for objections is 5:00 PM on Thursday, 26th March.
The Threat to Our Area
Several sites within the Ellenbrook area were recently promoted for development. Fortunately, the fields off Bramble Road and St Albans Road/Nast Hyde were deemed unsuitable by the Council. Therefore, EARA will not be commenting on them.
However, two critical sites have progressed to the next stage of planning, and we must focus all our efforts on stopping them:
🔴 HIGH PRIORITY – Site HEL 69: The field bordering Wilkins Green Lane, Ellenbrook Lane, and the Alban Way (including the playground). This has been included in the Proposed Site Allocations list and is at immediate risk.
🟠 MEDIUM PRIORITY – Site HEL 70: The field on the other side of the playground, bordering Ellenbrook Lane, the Alban Way, and the A414. This has been included in the Reasonable Alternative Site Allocations list.
EARA will be submitting detailed, formal objections to both sites, but we desperately need you to do the same. Developing these fields would destroy the rural character and green space that our community currently enjoys.
How You Can Help
We have prepared two documents (one for HEL 69 and one for HEL 70) which summarise the key planning arguments against development. You can view and download these directly from our Google Drive using the links below:
📄 Click here to download HEL 69 Summary Document.
📄 Click here to download HEL 70 Summary Document.
Please use the points in these documents as a guide, but we strongly urge you to put them into your own words. Hundreds of unique, individual emails are significantly more powerful to the Planning Inspectorate than copied-and-pasted text.
Please note: You must submit a separate objection for each site.
Step-by-Step Guide to Objecting Online:
Visit the WHBC consultation portal: welhat.gov.uk/ourlocalplan
Click on “Take part in the Consultation“.
Scroll down to the “Homes” section.
Click on “Get Involved“.
(Optional) Answer the initial survey, or simply click “Next“.
Scroll down to “Current and Proposed Site Allocations in Tiers and Settlements“.
Click on “Get Involved“.
Locate the Ellenbrook site on the map and click “View” (it is on page 18 of the PDF).
State the site reference clearly in your response: HEL 69 (and repeat the process later for HEL 70).
Click “Oppose“.
Type in your reasons for opposition.
Click “Next” to submit.
⚠️ CRUCIAL FINAL STEP: You will receive an email from the Council. You must click the link in that email to confirm your comment; otherwise, your objection will not be registered!
Please take 15 minutes this week to complete this, and encourage your neighbours to do the same. Our community’s future depends on it.