Planning issues at Church Road

Land on the south side of Church Road, comprising c. 33 acres and running between the car park adjacent to the Bowls Club and the Church was previously owned by the Meads Trust but has been sold to a developer who has subdivided the land into many smaller plots and is marketing them at auction.

The land is highly protected in a planning sense being within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (Chilterns AONB), partially within the Little Gaddesden Conservation Area and falls within the setting of the Grade 1 Listed Church of St Peter and St Paul. Further the village is designated as a Rural Settlement within the Local Plan where development is highly restricted.

The land has been included in an Article (4) 1 Direction taking away automatic rights to fencing, creating accesses and various temporary uses of the land. Finally, trees and hedgerows have been protected by the creation of a Tree Protection Order.

The Parish Council will resist any applications that change the appearance and use of the land from its current agricultural use.