Draft plans for 140 new homes in a village between Royston and Buntingford, have been agreed despite concerns around sewage in the nearby River Quin.
Along with the new homes, which would sit north of Barkway between Royston Road and the B1368 Cambridge Road, the applicant said they would build one retail unit on the site.
Officers at North Herts Council received 263 online objections to the proposals before a planning committee meeting on Thursday, December 1.
But the plan for new homes between the Royston and Cambridge roads was approved on the basis that the site was allocated for housing in the North Herts planning blueprint, that North Herts Council will require Thames Water to begin upgrading the sewage system before any development takes place, and that the scheme would comply with planning rules in the district.
At the December 1 meeting, applicant Robert Rand said: “It is vitally important for young people in the village who have grown up in Barkway, and whose families have always lived there and worked there to get on the housing ladder.
“This will return the housing balance to how it traditionally used to be.”
Under the draft plans, 56 homes are set to be “affordable” units, 65 per cent of which will be for the rental market.
Mr Rand added that he would include landscaping to mitigate the impacts which new homes would have on a nearby stables and stud.
Roger Allman, the stud’s agronomist, had previously raised concerns about the proposals.
He said: “No right-minded stud manager would risk the safety of a mare and foal (that might be worth a seven-figure sum) in a paddock right next to a housing development.
“I have been advising thoroughbred breeders for 38 years.
“I have come across far too many situations where thoroughbreds have suffered life-threatening injury through paddock accidents caused by the unnecessary intervention of people living nearby.”
A council report notes that, according to conservative estimates, the stud looks after over £100million in bloodstock.
District councillors Gerald Morris (Con, Ermine) and Tony Hunter (Con, Royston Meridian) both attended the meeting to raise objections to the proposal.
Both raised fears the development would “harm the rural economy”.
Thames Water identified in August 2022 that the existing sewage infrastructure would be unable to accommodate the needs of the development.
Friends of the Rib and Quin, a community group which aims to protect chalk streams in the area, added data shows discharges of raw sewage from the Barkway Sewage Treatment Works are increasing.
But cross-party councillors on the council’s planning committee agreed they must grant planning permission on the basis that they can – and will – require Thames Water to upgrade their works before any development takes place.
There are 24 planning conditions with which the developer must comply, among them that drainage and archaeological assessments are carried out, and that landscaping is agreed with the council at a later date.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here