Lib Dems adopt Local Plan to shield St Albans district from speculative development
The Liberal Democrat led St Albans District Council yesterday (9th September) voted to adopt a Local Plan - the first Local Plan in the district for more than 30 years, in a move that will ‘shield’ the district from unplanned speculative development by big developers.
The 2026 Local Plan meets the legal requirement of identifying sites for the government’s top-down housing target of 15,000 new homes whilst also adopting the most ambitious local policies possible, within government’s constraints, to deliver genuinely affordable social homes, biodiversity targets and ensure new developments are accompanied by the necessary infrastructure.
This marks the first Local Plan which has been successfully completed, in more than 30 years, after two failed attempts by former Conservative administrations left local communities exposed to the whims of big developers pushing through planning applications.
The Liberal Democrat administration has made this Local Plan as ambitious as possible under national planning rules in three important areas. It will require 12.5% of new homes to be social homes, require a biodiversity net gain of 10%, and stipulate infrastructure requirements such as transport, education and health for each site.
The Lib Dems have cemented these regulations, and the needs of local communities, into local policies just as the Labour government is bringing forward a trio of new damaging planning reforms.
The Labour government has increased the top-down housing target by a further 12,000 new homes (on top of the 15,000 this Local Plan delivers), introduced a flawed ‘grey belt’ definition which has already weakened greenbelt protections and watered down requirements for genuinely affordable homes, and scrapped the right for councillors to ‘call in’ planning applications for small and medium sized developments, leaving residents without a voice.
Paul de Kort, Liberal Democrat leader of St Albans District Council, said:
“I’m really proud that - in the face of demanding top-down housing targets imposed by the government - we Liberal Democrats have adopted a Local Plan that will deliver for our area.
“Thanks to this Plan, future developments will include the genuinely affordable, family and starter homes our area desperately needs, which are supported by sufficient local infrastructure and comply with ambitious environmental protections.
“After years of the Conservatives failing to deliver a plan and letting developers run roughshod over communities’ needs, we Lib Dems have embedded the most ambitious targets for social homes, environmental protections and infrastructure that we are allowed to.”
Daisy Cooper, Liberal Democrat MP for St Albans, said:
“I'm relieved that our Lib Dem led council has done everything in its power to maximise environmental protections, social home targets and infrastructure requirements through this Local Plan, to deliver the new social homes we need here in St Albans.
"Residents understand their communities better than anyone in Whitehall. They deserve a genuine say over how their neighbourhoods grow and develop.
“Whilst this Labour government continues their top-down planning power grabs, we Liberal Democrats will keep fighting for a community-driven planning system - one that amplifies community voices whilst working to solve the root causes of the housing crisis, by delivering the social homes we need.”
Victoria Collins, Liberal Democrat MP for Harpenden and Berkhamsted, said:
“After the Conservatives have left us exposed to developer-led housing for over 30 years, local Liberal Democrats have worked hard to deliver a Local Plan which also maximises infrastructure and environmental protection within the national planning law.
“However, whether it’s their flawed grey belt definition endangering green belt land, their planning system changes set to reduce the input of community voices in planning decisions, or their further hiked up housing targets, this Labour government are continuing to drive through planning reforms hindering this objective.
“I’ll continue fighting against these and for a planning system that has local voices and the needs of our area at its heart.”