A Hertfordshire council says it is confident any delay to its 16,000 home blueprint for the area will not lead to developers having free rein on the green belt.

Dacorum Borough Council is in the early stages of creating a new local plan which will earmark land for 16,000 homes in the area, after thousands of residents opposed an initial draft published in 2020.

The authority had hoped to adopt a local plan in November 2022, but now an initial public consultation isn’t expected until next spring – despite the Government saying authorities should have a plan in place by the end of 2023.

Councils without an up-to-date plan in place are at risk of speculative planning applications from developers, but officers have said they are confident they can defend the green belt until a new plan for the borough is approved.

The borough council’s cabinet approved the new approach at a meeting on Tuesday, February 15.

Following the creation of the draft plan, a public consultation is scheduled for June 2023, before a formal publication in June 2024 and submission later that year. 

If the council meets its schedule, the plan will then be adopted in October 2025 following an examination period.

Despite the delay, the council has defended undertaking its consultation last winter, saying it was necessary in fighting housing targets and ahead of challenges from developers.

Kings Langley councillor, who is responsible for planning and infrastructure in Dacorum, said: "We went through the first draft of the local plan some time ago now, as we were required by legislation; it included meeting what was then our allocation of housing.

"It caused quite a lot of controversy, with a record number of comments from the public. 

"Those comments are helpful in terms of facilitating the strategy we have with our green belt and are helpful in fighting our corner in terms of the impact on our local area.

"Had we done the consultation as some are arguing, the consequences would have been quite serious and our local plan would have become so old it would not be possible to defend a number of proposals."

Councillors asked where the new delay would leave the council’s five-year housing supply and whether it could leave the area vulnerable to developments on the green belt.

Officers said they had no doubts speculative applications would come forward, but they were confident the council could challenge any unwanted developments.

Alex Robinson, interim group manager for planning and development, said: "The sites are currently designated as green belt and therefore any application on land designated as green belt has to satisfy very special circumstances.

"I’m reasonably confident we have the backing of national policy to defend applications. I have no doubt there will be applications and there will be developers trying to test that."

Council leader Andrew Williams also sought assurances that if the borough’s housing target was affected at any stage of the process this could be amended, which was confirmed by officers.

Last year, the government said they expect all local authorities in England to have a new local plan in place by the end of 2023, with Dacorum now expecting to miss that deadline.

Hertsmere Borough Council recently announced it had "shelved" its draft local plan because of the unfavourable response from residents.