Plans for a business park and rural care farm in countryside near Stevenage are “fully supported” by residents – but councillors have raised fears the highways authority has not considered their impact on dangerous roads.
At a meeting on Wednesday, March 8, East Herts District Council’s planning committee granted a developer permission to build new barns and accommodation at Church Farm, Ardeley.
Proposals for the farm were supported in 88 letters and comments from neighbours, against 14 objections.
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Councillor Sally Newton told her colleagues the work which takes place at Church Farm is “first class”, particularly the rural care which it provides for people with complex needs.
But she warned the road through Ardeley is dangerous, and that improvements to the rural care facility and retail or office barns could heighten pre-existing risks which pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders in the village face.
Cllr Newton said: “I have seen the work that social services do here, with people with disabilities and children going to see animals, introduction into the rural community, and it’s first class.
“I am also aware that latterly it is looking a bit tired and this proposal looks like a nice tidying up of everything.”
She added: “The issue for me is the infrastructure. The road is not special, it never has been.
“You’ve got horses, cyclists, other animals, and you’ve also got tractors, which are competing terribly with the public at the moment.
“Whether there would be the thought of passing bays or anything like that between the major roads and Ardeley is something for Hertfordshire Highways to seriously consider in the future.”
Cllr Newton said the situation looks like a “perfect storm” for another incident, following a crash involving a cyclist and tractor driver nearby on August 28 last year.
A road safety and access officer from the British Horse Society attended the East Herts Council meeting.
He said roads in the area are narrow with high embankments, blind bends, a national speed limit of 60mph and no pavements.
“Local horse riders and horse-drawn carriage drivers use these country roads to exercise their horses and also to reach the local bridleways,” the officer said.
“Horse riders and carriage drivers are classified as vulnerable road users and need to be considered in this planning application which will cause an increase in vehicles using the local roads.”
Cllr David Andrews said: “I don’t think Highways has understood the challenge posed by the nearby school.
“I don’t want to over-egg it, but the simple fact is a great member of young people – very small people, very precious people – move up and down school lane during the course of the day.
“All Highways has acknowledged is that they would like construction traffic to stay away during drop-off and pickup times.
“Drop-off and pickup to me suggest motorists, who are not quite as precious and fragile as children are.
“I am worried about their exposure to traffic around lunchtimes.”
As part of the planning process, Hertfordshire County Council’s highways department must be asked for its views on the proposal – and what it might need to support the development.
The authority said it “does not want to restrict the grant of planning permission” subject to a series of conditions.
These conditions require the developer to work with Hertfordshire Highways to resurface some access routes to the site, provide a two-metre wide asphalt footway alongside a portion of the access route, and place stout wooden bollards at 1.5m on nearby verges before the development is “occupied”.
The Local Transport Plan for Hertfordshire sets out: “The county council will work in partnership with the district and borough councils, [National Highways], developers and other key stakeholders to influence the shape of new development in Hertfordshire.
“Where new development occurs, the related transport infrastructure should be designed with the aim of maintaining the existing character of an area, avoiding instances of community severance and maintaining residential and rural characters.”
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The document sets out that vulnerable road users – such as cyclists and equestrians – are second in a “Transport User Heirarchy”, after “opportunities to reduce travel demand and the need to travel”.
As part of the proposals, new barns would be provided for businesses at Church Farm, which according to council reports comprise a vodka distillery, craft workshops and a beauty salon.
Rural care would remain a part of the offer at Church Farm.
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