Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council has the following adopted or emerging policy documents:

• Welwyn Hatfield Local Plan, (2005)
• List of Saved Policies
• Emerging New Local Plan to cover period to 2032 once adopted

Text 15.52 Riding and Livery Stables

15.52 Riding is an important leisure activity in the district and there is continuing demand for development of stabling facilities. Riding and livery stables can have a detrimental impact on the countryside, in terms of the number and scale of buildings they introduce, creation of maneges, frequent over-grazing of pastures and the fragmentation of land holdings that can occur. There may also be potential adverse impacts on nearby sites of wildlife importance. New buildings should therefore be small scale. They should also be located so as to minimise the potential for conflict on the roads between cars and horse riders, wherever possible having direct links into the bridleway network.

Policy RA24 Riding and Livery Stables

Policy RA24 - Riding and Livery Stables Planning permission will be granted for small scale riding and livery stables, subject to the following criteria:
(i) The impact on the Green Belt;
(ii) The number, size, height and materials of buildings proposed; (iii) Their relationship to existing buildings and the surrounding area reflecting the rural character and landscape;
(iv) Their effect on neighbouring properties i.e. smell and noise;
(v) Their effect on environmental assets such as wildlife habitats; and
(vi) Consideration of the standards for the safety and comfort of horses recommended by the Countryside Agency and The British Horse Society.

New residential accommodation needed for the maintenance of the stables will not be permitted.

Proposals will not be permitted unless local roads are able to accommodate the anticipated additional vehicular traffic and links are provided from the site which give riders direct access to the bridleway network where appropriate. The implementation of these requirements will be achieved through the use of planning conditions or Section 106 agreements.

Text 15.53-15.54 Access to the Countryside

15.53 The Council wishes to promote informal leisure for everyone in the countryside while restricting traffic growth. This is important for people's health and quality of life. Footpaths, bridleways and cycleways provide a healthy alternative to the car. There can be conflicts between users and landowners, with a disregard by users of the countryside code and obstructions by some landowners. The County Council is now primarily responsible for maintenance of public rights of way. The County Council has produced a Good Practice Guide for Rights of Way which gives guidance of standards required which developers should adhere to. The District Council wishes to promote a positive approach to maintaining rights of way and supports the County Council in conjunction with the Countryside Management Service in its aim to define, waymark, maintain and improve the public rights of way network.

15.54 Although the Council is not directly responsible for the rights of way network it can control the design of development in relation to rights of way. The setting of an existing footpath usually adds to the enjoyment of the users and this can be badly affected by unsympathetic development. The Council will resist development that adversely affects the setting and amenity of existing definitive rights of way and where appropriate will seek improvements through planning conditions and S106 agreements in order to compensate for the increased use of public rights of way resulting from new development.

Policy RA25 Public Rights of Way

The Council will work with other organisations to promote the maintenance and improvement of the public rights of way network in the district. Planning permission will not be granted for development in the countryside which adversely affects the convenience, safety, setting and amenity of an existing definitive public right of way. The diversion of a public right of way will only be supported where the new route is as least as attractive, safe and convenient for public use. The implementation of these requirements will be achieved through the use of planning conditions or Section 106 agreements.

Text 15.55 Horse Riding and Bridleways

15.55 Horse ownership levels are significant and the popularity of riding as a leisure activity is increasing. Where riders use ordinary roads there is potential conflict with motor vehicles. Narrow lanes with limited visibility and little room for manoeuvre can be hazardous and inexperienced riders are particularly vulnerable. The Council therefore supports the improvement and extension of the bridleway network. Proposals for farm diversification or the use of land and buildings to provide new riding or livery stables should not add to potential conflict on the roads. Instead they can provide an opportunity to create further links in the network of bridleways. A London Orbital Bridle Route (the 'H25') is being created and will cross the southern boundary of the district. This is not an entirely new route but is being made up by linking existing bridleways. It will provide a regional link for the local network, which the Council supports.

Policy RA26 Bridleways

Proposals which support the improvement and extension of the bridleway network in the district, including the creation of a London Orbital Bridle Route, will be permitted subject to other policies in the Plan.

Text 15.56 Greenways

15.56 Dual or multiple use of cycleways for horse riding can help to increase the network of safe routes open to riders. However, dual use of cycleways can create conflict between users and requires different surface treatments. In addition, legally horse riders may not use cycleways. However, there are off- road routes where dual use is workable and the Council would support the expansion of this network of routes. One particular initiative is the 'Greenways' initiative, being developed by the Countryside Agency, the aim of which is to create a network of largely car-free off road routes for shared use by walkers, bikers and riders. One of the aims of the Watling Chase Community Forest is to improve access into the area of the forest and a pilot 'Greenways' scheme is taking place there in Hertsmere borough. There may be opportunities to extend the scheme into that part of the forest within Welwyn Hatfield District subject to resources.

Policy RA27 Greenways

Proposals which support the development of a 'Greenways' network in the district, to enable shared use of off-road routes by walkers, cyclists and horse riders, will be permitted subject to other policies in the Plan.

Emerging Local Plan (not yet in force)

As ever, the full plan shoudl be considered, and just some of the information in the draft plan relevant to rights of way or equestrians is reproduced below.

Emerging Policy SP12 Strategic Green Infrastructure

The Council will work with partners to actively support the creation and enhancement of strategic green infrastructure across the borough. Opportunities to link existing green spaces and to improve public access and amenity will be supported in order to provide a comprehensive network of functional and linked spaces for the benefit of wildlife, biodiversity and the community. The Council will aim to ensure there is no overall net loss in green infrastructure across the borough within the plan period. Development that would compromise the integrity, functionality or cause significant fragmentation of the green infrastructure network will not be permitted.

Priorities for the creation and enhancement of green infrastructure include river corridors, sites designated for their nature conservation, heritage and/or landscape value and areas of Urban Open Land that are important for community recreation. Development proposals within the borough should plan positively for, and contribute to, the creation and management of high quality, multifunctional green spaces that are linked to the surrounding green infrastructure network. To ensure beneficial results for biodiversity and habitat creation, Hertfordshire's Ecological Networks Mapping should be used (where appropriate) to inform the location and nature of green infrastructure provision.

New development should have regard to standards for provision of open space set out in the Planning Obligations Supplementary Planning Document including play spaces, allotments, sports pitches and other recreational facilities, as well as any other initiatives taking place in the borough including those listed below.

Developer contributions will be sought to deliver strategic green infrastructure including that identified in the Welwyn Hatfield Green Infrastructure Plan and green infrastructure proposals brought forward in the Local Plan. Support will be required to deliver the following projects:

• Implementation of the Hertfordshire Rights of Way Improvement Plan;
• Improvements to the River Mimram and Lea corridors;
• Greening of the urban environment in Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield;
• Implementation of the Welwyn Hatfield Green Corridor project.

Welwyn Hatfield Green Corridor

The council will work with partners and developers to enable the delivery of a Green Corridor located east to west across the borough between Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield. The diagram in Figure 8 below indicates the broad extent of the Green Corridor, its onward linkages including to existing green infrastructure, and its relationship to the new development sites allocated elsewhere in this plan. The Green Corridor Project will provide new strategic connections to Ellenbrook Country Park, Symondshyde Great Wood and Heartwood Forest in the West, and Stanborough Park, the Commons Wood Nature Reserve, and Moneyhole Lane Park to connect to Panshanger Park, the River Mimram and Lea Valley in the east. In particular, the council will work with Hertfordshire County Council as mineral planning authority and St Albans District Council as adjoining authority to maintain appropriate and safe public access to Ellenbrook Country Park during mineral extraction within the Park, and to restore and enhance the Park for public access and biodiversity following extraction.

The Green Corridor will connect existing green infrastructure, ecological assets, footpaths, cycleways and bridleways, and provide a community resource that will help maintain a sense of space/separation between Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield consistent with its Green Belt function. It will provide opportunities for the creation of new green spaces; wildlife and biodiversity projects; circular leisure routes; play, sport and leisure facilities; and new off road routes linked to the surrounding area.

Proposals for the development / creation of the Green Corridor will be detailed in the emerging Green Corridor Supplementary Planning Document and will be incorporated into the masterplanning of strategic sites. Proposals for development within or adjacent to the Green Corridor must have regard to the aims, objectives and projects identified in this document and avoid any negative impact upon existing ecological assets, valuable areas of green or blue infrastructure and public rights of way. Development that would jeopardise implementation of the Green Corridor project will not be permitted.

Text 13.1 Infrastructure Delivery

13.1 In order for communities to be successful, it is vital that they are well served by a range of infrastructure that is appropriate to people’s needs, affordable and accessible. The term infrastructure encompasses a wide range of services and facilities provided by both public and private sector agencies, but can generally be grouped into three main areas:

• Physical Infrastructure such as: transport infrastructure (roads, public transport, pedestrian and cycle routes, public rights of way and bridleways), cemeteries, communications, district heating systems, gas and electricity infrastructure, water provision and treatment, sewerage works and waste collection, recycling and disposal.
• Social Infrastructure such as: primary and secondary schools, nurseries, further education, primary and secondary healthcare, public emergency services, sports and recreation facilities, community facilities, libraries, cultural services and places of worship.
• Green Infrastructure such as: open space, allotments, parks and gardens, formal and informal green space, green corridors, river corridors, waterways, greenways, urban open land, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, nature conservation areas, Watling Chase Community Forest and sports pitches.

Emerging Policy SP 13 Infrastructure Delivery

To support the delivery of sustainable communities, the Council will ensure that suitable provision is made for new or improved infrastructure, required to meet the levels of growth identified in this Local Plan.

The Council's Infrastructure Delivery Plan sets out the key infrastructure projects that will be required to deliver the objectives of the Local Plan.

Developers will be required to contribute to the reasonable costs of enhancing existing infrastructure or providing new physical, social and green infrastructure, required as a result of their proposals, through either financial contributions (including planning obligations or the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)), or by direct provision of such infrastructure on-site within the development.

The Council will use the adopted Planning Obligations SPD, Section 106 agreements, unilateral undertakings, planning conditions, and when adopted, the Council’s CIL Charging Schedule, to secure this.

Supporting infrastructure should be provided in advance of, or alongside, the development, unless there is sufficient existing capacity. The appropriate phasing for the provision of infrastructure will however be determined on a case by case basis.

Furthermore, the Council will continue to work with its partners to address existing deficiencies and secure appropriate levels of funding.

Emerging Local Plan (not yet in force)

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