Green Belt Hotel

Plans to build a 200-room hotel complete with conference centre on Green Belt land have angered critics who feel they have been kept in the dark about the proposal.

David Lane Associates has been in discussion with St Albans District Council planning department for months over the four star hotel.

The firm is proposing to build on the Copswood site - Green Belt land between Lye Lane and the A405, opposite the Thistle Hotel.

The planning consultancy company is urging the council to include a hotel in the list of needs for St Albans and district in the Local Development Framework (LDF), which is currently being drafted.

But Eric Roberts, chairman of the St Albans Civic Society, said: "The LDF asked if we needed further hotels in the area and also whether St Albans should allow building on Green Belt but it didn't indicate that plans were afoot and there was no mention of it at the public presentation last week.

"It seems this is being actively pursued. We're not prepared to move our stance on protecting the Green Belt, we need to find another site."

If the council decides a hotel should be included in the LDF and it is accepted through the necessary consulation stages then an application to build on the site can be made.

David Lane has spoken to the county council's highways department which has agreed to allow access to the site from Chiswell Green roundabout and re-align it for safety. Council research shows the need for a hotel and conference centre in the area fluctuates so it will look at the long term requirement, considering the growth of the city.

John Chapman, the council's planning policy manager, said: "This is not a site we would propose housing on so otherwise the area would just stay as a Green Belt area. There has to be exceptional circumstances to build on the Green Belt but if there is a strong need for a hotel then it is possible the site could be built on if no others are suitable."

Plans for a hotel could appear in the LDF in February 2007. A hotel would not be built until 2009.

Ian Getley, St Stephens parish councillor, said: "We don't need another hotel and definately not enough to have to build it on Green Belt land. a 200-room hotel is going to bring more traffic into the area which we don't need."

Mr Roberts added that the society feared the latest plans to build on the Green Belt, including the Radlett Aerodrome Railfreight Terminal proposals, would set a precendent for further developments.

The plans will be discussed at the next committee meeting this month.

Date: 5th July 2006
Source: St Albans and Harpenden Review