New houses plan thrown out due to school places row

Plans for an estate of 700 houses with a care home have been thrown out following a dispute about payments for school places.

The developers of Compass Park in Bushey, Hertfordshire, have so far refused to pay the full amount requested by the local council towards school places for new residents.

They said there were enough spare places for all the children who were likely to move in.

Hertsmere Borough Council said more money was needed for the extra demand caused by all the planned developments in the area.

The new development is planned for Compass Park, a green open space criss-crossed by public footpaths.

The project includes up to 700 houses, a 70-bed care home, public parks and land for a primary school.

Hertfordshire County Council says some primary school places are already available for families moving in, but, when other planned developments are added into the mix, more places will be needed.

The authority has asked the developer for £7m towards education, which the firm is now offering despite disagreeing with the calculations.

It has also agreed to pay £1m towards the cost of educating children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

But the council also wants £7.6m towards secondary school places, which the developer disputes as it says there are enough surplus places already.

Sam Calder, representing the developers at Thursday's planning meeting, said: "After six months of dialogue, the County Council continues to seek funds to expand the secondary network.

"Its justification is that this is needed to meet future demand from outside Hertsmere, namely Watford.

"Compass Park cannot reasonably be required to fund education needs arising elsewhere."

But Miles Ponder, a Liberal Democrat councillor, told the meeting: "These are documented infrastructure concerns, they're not speculations.

"We cannot build hundreds of homes and simply hope that the essential infrastructure will catch up."

Councillors refused permission for the development, as it "fails to secure the financial contribution which is considered necessary to mitigate the additional secondary education demand".

Permission was also refused because of the harm that would have been caused to the green belt and loss of farming land.

In a statement, the developers, Hill Group and Clarion Housing, said they were disappointed by the decision.

They added: "Hertsmere has less than one year's housing land supply, and Compass Park would have helped address that need by delivering 700 much-needed homes.

"The refusal centred on a disputed secondary education contribution, despite the county council's own evidence showing sufficient secondary capacity locally. Our proposed plans include provision for a new primary school and meeting the requested primary and SEND contributions, which exceed what the evidence shows is necessary.

"The development will now likely be decided by the Secretary of State or at appeal, which will mean further delay in delivering much-needed homes in the area."

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