Welwyn Hatfield New Local Plan – Call for Sites for Development
Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council (WHBC) has started the process of preparing a new Local Plan to guide future development across the borough.
As part of this early stage, the Council recently issued a Call for Sites, inviting landowners, developers, and members of the public to put forward land they believe may be suitable for development. A total of 77 site submissions were received.
This is a routine and important step in the plan-making process, aimed at ensuring all potential options are considered. Each submitted site will now undergo a full and detailed assessment to understand its suitability for different types of development. It is important to note that inclusion in this assessment process does not mean a site will be allocated for development in the new Local Plan. The decision to allocate sites will be based on a wide range of factors, including local needs, planning policy, infrastructure capacity, and environmental constraints.
We want to ensure the Local Plan process is open and transparent and we are therefore publishing the details of all the sites received during this first Call for Sites. This information is available as a part of the papers for Cabinet Parking and Panel to be held on 17 July and will be made publicly available on the Council’s Local Plan portal, after the meeting of Cabinet on the 5 August.
The policy of WHBC is to prioritise building on previously-used land (brownfield sites) wherever feasible. We therefore plan to launch a second Call for Sites later this year, with a particular focus on brownfield and urban land. This is to ensure that all reasonable non-Green Belt options are fully explored before any decisions are made.
Councillor Rose Grewal, Executive Member Planning said:
This is just the beginning of a long and thorough process to develop a sound Local Plan for Welwyn Hatfield that reflects the needs of our communities. We are committed to doing this in a transparent way and will continue to engage with residents, businesses and stakeholders at every stage.
For more information and updates on the new Local Plan, please visit: https://www.welhat.gov.uk/ourlocalplan and opt in for updates. Please note, if you are already opted in for updates on our current Local Plan, you will need to opt in again.