Local resident groups have said proposals for developments along Broadwater Road, Welwyn Garden City, shouldn't be allowed to “reach for the sky” as they go against the principals the town was founded upon.

Welwyn Hatfield Times: The old Shredded Wheat factory.The old Shredded Wheat factory. (Image: Google Maps)

There are several proposals to build thousands of homes along the Peartree road, with some blocks set to be 10 storeys tall.

Welwyn Garden City Heritage Trust (WGCHT) and Welwyn Garden City Society (WGCS) are coordinating effort to oppose the proposals, which they consider unfit for a garden city.

The three developments in question are: The Wheat Quarter - 1,209 proposed homes, The BioPark - 289 homes and The South Site - 721 homes.

The council’s own plan for the area – the Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) – states that the silos at the Old Shredded Wheat Factory "should stand out as the main landmark on the skyline".

Which is why the document states: "It is generally considered that buildings on the site should not be more than five storeys in height."

Yet all three proposals contain blocks well above five storeys - one of the reasons local groups are so opposed.

You can see what some of the proposals look like: The Wheat Quarter, The BioPark and The South Site.

Stephen Bensley, secretary of the WGCS , believes strongly in Welwyn Garden City being a special town thanks to Ebenezer Howard's vision and ideals. He said: "What's happening in Broadwater Road is driving a wedge through all these principals and turning the garden city into something else.

"It certainly doesn't have any garden city element to anything that's proposed along Broadwater Road West."

One of Stephen's main objections is that there are many areas in Welwyn Hatfield that could be developed but haven't been considered in the Local Plan.

He added: "Railway stations like Brookmans Park and Welham Green have high accessibility and there's land there. It may well be Green Belt land but it's not environmentally sensitive Green Belt land.

"The main area of development in Welwyn Hatfield appears to be in the existing towns."

Welwyn Hatfield Times: Former Shredded Wheat factoryFormer Shredded Wheat factory (Image: Archant)

He is not necessarily against blocks of flats, but thinks the council's own cap on five-storey buildings should be adhered to.

Stephen referenced the nearby four-storey Mirage development as an example of something that could be considered to be a '21st century interpretation of garden city principals'.

Chair of WGCHT, Tony Skottowe, made his feeling about the proposals very clear: "It's quite obvious the developers have no idea what a garden city it is. They certainly have no idea how important and world famous Welwyn Garden City is, either that or they simply don't give a damn about wrecking the place. It is absolutely disgraceful what they are putting up."

Welwyn Hatfield Times: Chair of the WGC Heritage Trust Tony Skottowe.Chair of the WGC Heritage Trust Tony Skottowe. (Image: Danny Loo Photography 2017)

Tony stressed how Welwyn Garden City is based on concept for housing for families, that it is modest town with low rise buildings for accommodation, but now 'we are getting nine storeys thrust in there with thousands of new tenants'.

Referencing the Local Plan he added: "The vast bulk has been dumped on Welwyn Garden City there's loads of space elsewhere. There's plenty of space down in Cuffley, I'm sure there's space in Little Heath.

"A number of areas have train stations which are not even on the list of available spaces. One has to question why not? OK so the residents there won't particularly like it, but neither do we like having several thousand people thrust on us.

"Chuck this thing out and reset the list, with all the places that have available spaces in it and then you have got a way of producing the sort of houses that the Government want - which is frankly far too many for the area but that's another story."

Tony would prefer to see a few more well spread out blocks, some townhouses and an increase the amount of social housing on the site.

If the proposals go ahead as planned, he questioned: "Could you then continue to call this place a garden city?

"No you could not."

A spokesperson for Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council said: “Maintaining the distinctive character of our towns and villages is at the heart of the Local Plan. As is delivering the new jobs, homes, shops, and leisure that we need to support strong, vibrant and healthy communities now, and for our future generations.

“Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield will continue to be the focus for shopping, leisure, housing and employment opportunities. However, we are also proposing development in the larger villages where it is sustainable and following careful consideration of green belt boundaries.

“We understand concerns around the density of development on brownfield sites in and around our town centres. The applications will be carefully considered by the council and involve consultation with key stakeholders including Historic England and infrastructure providers such as Hertfordshire County Council.

“The consultation on proposals is open for responses on our website. All issues raised will be carefully considered before the application is determined later in the year.”

For more visit: welwynhatfield.co.uk/wgc_society or welwyngarden-heritage.org