The Comet, April 30 1998

Prescott says 10,000 homes must be built

Despite a radical decision by county hall, which called for the Government to think again about Hertfordshire' s housing needs, John Prescott has refused to back down.

This means that Green belt land west of Stevenage is more likely than ever to have up to 10,000 houses built on it. In a letter to the county council, Mr Prescott, deputy prime minister and secretary of the state for the environment, rejected its request to look at whether Hertfordshire really needed 65,000 new houses by the year 2011. Campaigners were hopeful he would decide in favour of them, stopping the controversial building of up to 10,000 homes on Green belt and west of Stevenage. But Mr Prescott was adamant the housing was still needed.

The decision whether to go ahead or not allowing developers to move in on the area is due to be made at a special meeting of the environmental committee in county hall, Hertford, this afternoon (Thursday).

It is expected to go through. Campaigners are bitter about minister's response. Jenny Purchon, of The Herefordshire Society, said: "We believe that Hertfordshire provides an ideal opportunity for the Government to implement its loudly trumpeted plans for the communities of the future. Instead of this a decision has been made that will mean the destruction of large areas of the Hertfordshire countryside". And the county's Tories, who set up a petition against the scheme, have also cried foul.

"His so called shift in policy is totally meaningless, sound bite after all", slammed Cllr Robert Ellis, Conservative leader at county hall. Only a small reduction in the numbers of dwellings for Hertfordshire would have saved the largest loss of Green belt ever proposed in this country. "It just goes to show that at national level as well as locally the Labour Party is not prepared to protect the Green Belt and the countryside".

The Labour group however, who devised the scheme with the Liberal Democrats, are delighted by the news and claim the 'Tories' support for the cause is merely electioneering. Councillors are being asked to adopt the scheme at the meeting which starts at 2.30 p.m. and will also look at a petition claiming there is not enough water to sustain the development.

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