Land adjacent to 10 Hambridge Way, Pirton

Decision

approved, 3 September 2026

Decided by

Council planning committee: North Hertfordshire Planning Control Committee (case officer Ben Glover)

Authority

North Hertfordshire (East of England)

Application reference

25/02064/OP

Procedure

committee

Development

Outline, up to 50 dwellings (20 affordable, 40%), access only

Homes

50

Site context

open countryside, settlement edge

Green Belt

No

Housing land supply

2.6 years

Framework applied

August 2026 NPPF

Determinative policies

S5(1)(j)(i), S5(2), HO7, TR6

Development plan policies

North Herts Local Plan 2011-2031 SP2, SP5, CGB1 (Rural Area beyond Green Belt), HS2, Pirton Neighbourhood Plan PNP1

Main issues

S5(1)(j); neighbourhood plan conflict; noise/agent of change

Summary

50 homes (40% affordable) on the edge of Pirton, a Category A village in North Hertfordshire's Rural Area beyond the Green Belt. The scheme conflicts with local plan and neighbourhood plan boundary policies. The report, written under the 2024 tilted balance, was re-run in a written update under S5(1)(j). With a 2.6-year supply and a site physically enclosed on three sides by the village, officers found the benefits "not substantially outweighed". The committee approved after debating noise from the neighbouring sports club.

Issues and findings

• S5(1)(j): PASS. "the site is considered to be physically well-related to the existing settlement. The northern and western boundaries are shared with existing residential development. The southern boundary is shared with the Pirton Recreation Ground and the site is contained to the east by a mature hedgerow" (Update).
• S5(2): not engaged. "No such policy is engaged in this case. There would be no unacceptable impact on highway safety for the purposes of Policy TR6, the proposal would also not conflict with flood risk, heritage or biodiversity policies" (Update).
• Neighbourhood plan. The scheme conflicts with PNP1: within the boundary only, and no more than 30 houses (Report ¶4.3.16–4.3.17). Neither the report nor the update discusses S6.
• Concordance table. The update maps the 2024 paragraphs to 2026 policies (paragraph 11 → S3/S5/S6; paragraph 61 → HO7; paragraphs 110/115/116 → TR6).

Planning balance

S5(1). HO7 substantial weight to housing and affordable housing. Landscape, amenity and plan conflict weighed against. "it is not considered that the benefits are substantially outweighed by any adverse effects" (Update).

What made the difference

Enclosure on three sides by the village, and a supply well below five years. Members looked for a noise reason from the adjacent sports club but were advised that any alternative recommendation "must be supported by a material planning reason" (Minutes).

Transferable points

• The officer update equates the 2024 highways paragraphs 110/115/116 with TR6 only (Update table). That omits TR3, the location test, and is worth challenging where location is in issue.
• S5(2) was treated as a checklist of national "should be refused" policies. None was engaged, so the S5 presumption applied (Update).

Policy findings

Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.

Key facts

• Supply 2.6 years
• Report written under Dec 2024 NPPF; written update re-ran it under S5 with a 2024→2026 concordance table
• Members' main debate was noise from the adjacent sports club and events; noise was not accepted as a refusal reason
• Category A village within the Rural Area beyond the Green Belt

Related decisions

• eastdevon-26-0534-MOUT

Sources

• democracy.north-herts.gov.uk
• democracy.north-herts.gov.uk
• democracy.north-herts.gov.uk
• democracy.north-herts.gov.uk

This note is one of the decisions behind the NPPF 2026 Navigator, which shows how each Framework test has been applied across all the decisions in the database. Also available as Markdown.