Campaigners have expressed their disappointment following the approval of plans to develop the former BioPark site in Welwyn Garden City.

HG Construction Group submitted plans for 289 homes in six blocks of up to nine stories in Broadwater Road last September, but these were rejected.

An appeal against the decision was launched, with an eight-day planning inquiry in July seeing the planning inspector reversing the original decision and approving the development.

In a joint statement, Keep the G in Welwyn Garden City and the Welwyn Garden City Heritage Trust admitted they were ‘very disappointed’ by the decision, but vowed to continue fighting inappropriate developments in the town.

“Whilst this is obviously a very disappointing outcome, and not the outcome that people wanted, I will say this; the whole process that we followed, and the experience gained from it, has put us in an infinitely stronger position than we were in three months ago,” read the statement.

“This has made the groups more determined to ensure that developers, planners and the council are held to account by the community.”

Keep the G chair, Kate Cowan, criticised Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, describing their defence during the planning inquiry as ‘weak’.

“We were very keen to work side by side with the council from the outset, to form a united front in defending the decision to refuse the application,” she said.

“But we must be brutally honest here, the council’s defence was weak from the outset.

“They took many weeks to meet with the community groups, they were reluctant to share information and resources, and even the arrangements for the public inquiry itself were poorly executed.

“Many people also commented on how poorly prepared their witnesses seemed. We hope that the council will take the words of the inspector on board, he himself described the council’s case as ‘less than convincing.”

In response to Kate, councillor Stephen Boulton, executive member for planning and resources, said: “On behalf of the community, we are disappointed at the outcome of the appeal against our decision to reject the BioPark planning application.

"Although officers made it clear they could see no reason for the original application to be refused, members of the Development Management Committee felt strongly that the community’s voice should be heard.

"Officers worked hard to support the decision of councillors and spent around £100k on legal and other specialist advice to put together as strong a case as possible for our decision to be upheld.

“Despite hearing arguments from the council, community groups and individuals during the eight-day long public inquiry, the independently appointed planning inspector came to the conclusion that planning permission should be granted, although he refused an application made by the appellants for costs to be awarded against the council."

Keep the G founder, Martin Norman, is determined to keep working closely with the council and express the views of Welwyn Garden City residents, saying: “We will be seeking to meet with the CEO of the council and with the new director of planning when he takes his position.

“It is important that the views of residents are conveyed to senior officers in the council. We hope that they will be open to continued dialogue for the sake of our town."