Homes plan behind The Grove Lodge blocked over transport

The applicant, real estate company Savills, had submitted the application to find out whether the principle of a four to five home project in Fir Tree Hill would be acceptable, in November last year.

Three Rivers District Council’s decision, published yesterday (January 29), said that it would not be because it lies outside of a main settlement boundary and has no public transport links, no public amenities, and no pavement in Fir Tree Hill to allow residents to walk into Chandlers Cross.

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The site, in Fir Tree Hill. (Image: Google Maps/Canva)

Anyone living there would therefore be “relying on the extensive use of private motor travel”, making it an “unsustainable” location.

The site is beyond The Grove Lodge, via an access road north from Fir Tree Hill between Chandlers Cross and The Grove Hotel, and was within the area of the green belt but is currently taken up by barns, stables, a workshop, a garage, and two bungalows — and therefore brownfield.

If the council had granted approval for the permission in principle application, the applicant would still have to obtain technical designs consent by offering the details of the homes at a later date.