The green belt society's Claire Taylor and Bob Horrocks counting the response forms

Last January, the East of England Regional Assembly sent a report to the Government recommending that the region's existing 1,836 authorised pitches for gypsies and travellers be increased by at least another 1,187 pitches by 2011.

Of these 1,187 additional pitches, 17 would be in Welwyn Hatfield, and consultants employed by Welwyn Hatfield Council reported that they could recommend just one site in the whole borough, at Bulls Lane, Bell Bar.

The Government then carried out a public consultation on these proposals with a closing date of 16 May 2008.

North Mymms District Green Belt Society (NMDGBS) prepared a standard response to the consultation document which was attached to a newsletter circulated to every household in Brookmans Park, Welham Green and parts of Bullens Green and Little Heath.

The society received completed response forms from 665 residents.

The standard response form queried the timescale for producing this number of pitches, the calculation which seemed to produce far more pitches than were necessary, and the distribution with a minimum of 15 pitches in each local authority area.

It noted that St Albans and Welwyn Hatfield already had the largest number of authorised pitches in the county, with most of the non-urban land being classified as green belt. It also claimed that the Bulls Lane site was unsuitable and failed to fully meet the criteria for pitches.

The Government will be holding an 'Inquiry in Public' later this year when planning inspectors will consider the representations already made and hear various parties arguments. The final decision is due to be made sometime in 2009.

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16 May 2008