Government faces legal threat over East of England Plan

Government plans to increase housing in the East of England to 508,000 dwellings by 2021 now face a legal challenge from one council, which claims that the demand would be too much for its infrastructure to handle.

Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) said it had "no choice" but to challenge the target, which forms part of the government’s East of England Plan, including an investment of £18m for Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire to boost development.

The plan included the construction of 83,200 new homes and the creation of 68,000 jobs within Hertfordshire.

“The government has presided over a flawed process and has left us with no choice but to challenge the plan through the Courts,” said HCC leader Robert Gordon.

“The County Council has been at the forefront of seeking to persuade the government to moderate its proposals for Hertfordshire.

"We cannot go to law merely because we disagree with the government’s conclusions, but our legal advisors tell us that we do have grounds on which to challenge the validity of the process leading to the plan.

“In particular, we believe that the government has failed to consider alternatives to the proposed growth areas and has failed to carry out adequate environmental assessments under the relevant regulations and directives.

"The rationale for the major development in Hertfordshire, north of Harlow, is flawed and the plan fails to address transport and sewerage infrastructure needed to support this scale of growth.

“Throughout the consultation process it seemed that the government had a clear view about its intended outcome and that it could override local concerns. Only once the plan was published could we review the process and analysis that had led to its policy conclusions.

"As the process and analysis was flawed, so must be the conclusions.

“We are reluctant to have to go to law and there is never any certainty about the outcome of court proceedings, but the County Council will always stand up for the interests of our residents.

"We hope that the outcome will lead to an open and balanced assessment of the impact of future growth and to revised proposals that will support our aspirations to make Hertfordshire a better place to live and work.”