The Housing numbers for Dacorum - a mutant algorithm?
922 homes per year, over 18 years = over 16,000 homes, in Dacorum.
Why so many new houses?
This Local Plan has been drafted to provide for the 922 dwellings per year that national Government have said we need to enable within our boundary. This is rather more than the expected growth in this area (355 per year) because houses are not affordable here.
Of course, "expected growth" isn't the whole story, because there are thousands of local people - many living in overcrowded conditions - who need properly affordable housing close to good public transport, or walkable to town or workplaces.
The government algorithm uses an average home price in our area, and compares it with the average earnings in Dacorum. House prices and rents in Dacorum are certainly not *properly* affordable, but the current algorithm forces the vast majority of house building into London and its commuter areas - and that includes Dacorum.
So what's this consultation?
This is your opportunity to have a say about what is proposed by DBC to meet the target set by national government. Perhaps you will agree entirely with what is proposed, more likely you will have your own views about some aspects of the plan.
DBC is required to consult with its residents, and when the consultation comes out on Friday 27th at 5pm the more people that take the time to look at the Local Plan, and comment, the better. There is time to pick about the documents and get an understanding of it all, if you take a look in December and ponder your comments a while, before sending them in.
We'll be delving into the 400 pages (on Facebook, Twitter and on this website), to make it easier to identify the big questions where your answers provide evidence that supports modifications to the draft Plan. We'll try to show you the parts that are about Hemel, the parts that are about green-issues and the parts that are about what could make Dacorum better, given those changes that are - or are not welcomed.
Please share these articles to your WhatsApp chats and with your friends - the more people have their say, the better!