The design for a 100-home development near the A1(M) has been green lit by two councils.

Taylor Wimpey South Midlands has received planning permission to build the homes on land which straddles the St Albans and Welwyn Hatfield district and borough boundaries at Colney Heath.

Both councils have signed off on the project, but an opponent to the scheme on the St Albans side has raised fears that nearby doctors surgeries and schools are oversubscribed, leaving children to walk to class in Hatfield through “Muggers’ Alley” beneath the motorway.

Welwyn Hatfield Times: How two of the proposed new homes in Colney Heath could look according to the developer. How two of the proposed new homes in Colney Heath could look according to the developer. (Image: Woods Hardwick via St Albans City and District Council)

Parish councillor Peter Cooke, on behalf of Colney Heath Council, said: “The proposal feels like a standard development scheme designed for an urban area.

“It does not reflect the rural character of the village.”

He added Colney Heath frequently receives around five buses each day and said: “Residents worry about education provision where cars have to be used to get to schools.

“The pedestrian underpass under the A1(M) is known locally as Muggers’ Alley.

“In reality, what chance will there be to walk to a primary school when the Colney Heath one is oversubscribed?”

St Albans district councillor Chris Brazier pointed out that – out of the 100 homes – the developer wants to build 23 five-bedroom units for private sale, 16 four-bed units for private sale with a further two affordable units, and six three-bed dwellings for private sale with 11 affordable units.

Additionally, 10 plots will be reserved for self-build four-bedroom homes.

Cllr Brazier said: “We haven’t got the infrastructure to support that. We do not need 23 five-bedroom houses.”

The 2020 South West Herts Local Housing Assessment sets out that there is a lack of new-build homes in the region, with a particular need for two and three-bedroom properties.

Both St Albans and Welwyn Hatfield councils had originally refused permission for the development to go ahead in a 2020 planning application.

Their decision was overturned by the government’s Planning Inspectorate at appeal.

St Albans councillors agreed that objecting to the developers’ designs, layout and housing mix proposals could be a costly decision if the developer decided to appeal their decision again.

Welwyn Hatfield planning staff recommended that the council grants permission to Taylor Wimpey on the basis that “the development would create acceptable living conditions for future residents and the living conditions of neighbouring properties would be protected”.

If built, the 100 homes will sit on land between Bullens Green Lane and Roestock Lane in Colney Heath.

The site would feature flood mitigation measures, upgrade works to widen Bullens Green Lane, and upgraded public footpath to Roestock Lane and a central tree-lined avenue with roadside verges.

A design statement by the developer reads: “There has been careful consideration for the placement of the range of bedroom dwellings across the proposed development, therefore creating a scheme of variety and careful disposition.

“The scheme has been designed to be ‘tenure blind’, providing full integration of the affordable dwellings into the scheme.

“This is achieved by utilising the same materials and boundary treatment types, alongside consistent house types across the site.”