Landscape and Visual issues associated with the Little Hay proposals

Hertfordshire County Council has commissioned a Landscape Architect to ‘comment on the landscape and visual issues of a planning application for’ the remodelling of Little Hay Golf Course'.  As the area forms the outlook from many of our homes, I have read this with a view to picking out those aspects relevant to us.

•  No reference whatsoever is made to Bourne End other than Upper Bourne End Lane.
• In a reference to Upper Bourne End Lane, the following statement is made. ‘From a landscape point of view a one way system would reduce damage to verges and keep vehicles in the centre of the lane under the trees’. (ref. 2.6)

 While no reference is made to Bourne End, a considerable proportion of the report is devoted to the views from the AONB near Potten End.  

·         Given the distance from the site, the proportion of view affected and the likelihood of travellers concentrating on safe passage the impact on these views would however be minor adverse during construction and would be minimal once the site is established. (ref. 9.1) We are not at a great distance from the site, and we are not driving when we look out of our windows.

·         ‘While the proposed landform is likely to be of great interest and appeal to golfers owing to its intricate moulding, it is likely to attract a mixed reception from the public, with many finding it quite alien and incongruous, leading to a major adverse impact for some. It may be that in time the new landform would become more widely appreciated or screened, but this type of golf course is relatively novel and there is little experience of how much it will be appreciated, and particularly within sight of the AONB’ (ref. 9.3)

·         ‘The proposed grading is extensive and may be considered incongruous to non-golfers but it is part of the design of a golf course and an inevitable feature.’ (ref. 9.8)

·         ‘The northern part of the site is more visible from the higher ground on the other side of the valley but this is looking into the sun and the detail in the landscape is harder to pick out.’ (ref. 9.7)  This requires no comment!

As with the plan itself the wider perspective on this area of land has been ignored.  It raises significant questions about the driving force behind the plan, and brings to the fore again the lack of local knowledge by those involved.

But don’t let these extracts colour your view.  Do read the report yourself, it’s quite lengthy, but failure to comment on it might well enable it to be taken as a fair representation of the proposals.

The report can be found at the following link

Liz Lake Report