Core Strategy
The Core Strategy will be the main planning policy document for the district. It will set the overall level of growth in terms of housing numbers and commercial floorspace. It will also include a number of development policies for determining planning applications. It will not generally specify precise pieces of land for development - that will be done by the Land Allocations document.
Consultation: Housing Growth Targets 2011-2031
February 2012
The Housing Growth Targets consultation ran from 17th February to 30th March 2012. The consultation has now closed, but the documents are still available to view below.
Under the Localism Act 2011, local authorities are being given responsibility for setting their own levels of growth. The Council is therefore looking to decide at how many homes should be built in North Hertfordshireover the next 20 years. The consultation paper outlines eight different options for housing growth, ranging from 15,800 new homes down to 2,500 homes. The Council’s preferred option (Option F) is for 7,000 new homes which will enable us to meet our affordable housing needs.
Please note that this document does not include specific locations for the different levels of growth – these will be identified at a later date through the Land Allocations consultations.
Although the consultation is now closed, it can still be viewed via our online consultation software:
Alternatively, pdf versions of the document and accompanying supporting documents are available below. Hard copies are available to inspect at the district's libraries and at the Council Offices in Letchworth.
Housing Growth Targets (4044KB) 
Sustainability Appraisal (215KB)
Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment
Defining the housing requirement (183KB)
Report of stakeholder consultation November 2010 (54KB)
Further background documents can be found on our Evidence Base page.
Preferred Options Papers September 2007
From 20 September to 31 October 2007 we consulted upon two documents: the Core Strategy and the Development Policies. The consultation has now closed, but the consultation documents can still be viewed below, either via our online consultation software above or the pdf documents at the bottom of the page. The accompanying Sustainability Appraisal is available on the Core Strategy Sustainability Appraisal page, and earlier stages of the core strategy preparation can be found on the Core Strategy Archive page.
