North Herts Local Plan comments close 5pm on 24 November. Drop-ins at Knebworth on 19 Oct and Graveley on 27 Oct, with sites on Stevenage's edge on the map.

North Herts Council has opened the next round of consultation on its new Local Plan, the document that will decide where homes, jobs and infrastructure go across the district up to 2040. Comments close at 5pm on Tuesday 24 November 2026.

It matters on Stevenage’s doorstep. Great Ashby sits largely inside North Hertfordshire, and the land put forward for development in this round includes sites at Graveley, Knebworth and along Stevenage Road between Stevenage and Hitchin. Two of the council’s drop-in sessions are a short drive from the town: Knebworth Village Hall on Monday 19 October and Graveley Village Hall on Tuesday 27 October.

What the council is asking

Earlier this year the council asked residents, businesses and community groups what their priorities were. In its press release, sent to Stevenage Today on 13 October, it says the answers included making sure housing “meets a range of needs, helping development remain climate resilient in the future and ensuring people have access to open and green spaces.”

Now it wants views on “a range of potential approaches it could take when shaping the new North Herts Local Plan.” The release picks out three: requirements around self and custom build, community energy schemes, and designating Locally Valued Landscapes.

All of them are set out in the Content and Evidence Document, a 163-page formal consultation paper with numbered questions. Among them:

  • Homes. The council says the Government’s standard method expects it to plan for around 1,036 new homes a year, about 11,396 between 2029 and 2040. It has over 12,100 homes already planned or with permission, of which 9,844 could be carried into the new plan. If it cannot show a five-year supply of sites, “as is the case now”, it would need a 20% buffer, a further 2,279 homes.
  • Where they go. The document weighs four broad options: building within existing towns, edge-of-town extensions, spreading growth across villages, and one or more new settlements. The edge-of-town option names “the currently safeguarded site west of Stevenage” as one possible larger location.
  • Self-build. There are 122 people on the council’s self-build register (August 2026). The current plan sets aside 56 plots across five big sites, including North of Stevenage and Land off Mendip Way, Great Ashby, and the council is asking whether a dedicated policy is needed.
  • Landscape. Question 44 asks whether distinctive countryside outside the Chilterns National Landscape should be designated as Locally Valued Landscapes. The document says the area under consideration could include the Mimram Valley Parklands.
  • Community energy. Question 51 asks whether the plan should encourage schemes where residents and local groups develop, own or benefit from renewable energy such as solar panels.

The document also notes the district’s “particularly strong functional relationships with Stevenage”, with many residents travelling between the two for work, shopping, education and services.

Councillor Donna Wright, North Herts Council’s Executive Member for Place, said: “The feedback we received earlier this year from residents, businesses, community groups, and stakeholders on their priorities for our new Local Plan was invaluable. As we continue to develop our new Local Plan, I’d like to encourage as many people as possible to have their say on the range of potential approaches we could take as it is key the new Local Plan reflects the needs and priorities of our communities.”

The council expects the new plan to be in place in late 2028 or early 2029, according to its Local Plan page.

The sites near Stevenage

Alongside the plan itself, the council is publishing land that owners and promoters put forward in its Call for Sites, plus allocations in the current plan that have no permission or have not started on site. The council stresses that these “are not allocated for development”, have “no planning status”, and that no decision has been made on any of them. You can comment on each one on an interactive map until the same 5pm, 24 November deadline.

The full list includes, on the Stevenage side of the district:

  • Graveley: 13.62 hectares south of Ashbrook Gardens, put forward for housing and commercial use, and the current plan’s North of Stevenage (43.20ha) and Great Ashby (10.81ha) allocations.
  • Knebworth: nine submitted sites, the largest 32.04ha south west of the village and 22.33ha east of the B197 Stevenage Road.
  • St Ippolyts: several sites along the A602 Stevenage Road towards Hitchin, including 24.81ha at Oakfield Farm and 24.30ha between Kingshott School and St Ippolyts School.
  • Langley: 19.85ha at Rush Green Motors on London Road, for industrial and residential use.

The council says it is assessing each site for whether it is suitable, available and achievable, with the results due in a land availability assessment next year.

Drop-in sessions

The council is running informal drop-ins where you can talk to planning officers, ask questions and find out “what the new Local Plan could mean for North Herts’ future.” The Kimpton session was on 12 October. The rest:

Table of North Herts Local Plan drop-in sessions: Cockernhoe Memorial Hall Tuesday 13 October 3.30 to 6.30pm; Knebworth Village Hall Monday 19 October 3.30 to 6.30pm; Royston Town Hall Tuesday 20 October 3.30 to 6.30pm; Ashwell Village Hall Monday 26 October 3.30 to 6.30pm; Graveley Village Hall Tuesday 27 October 2.30 to 5.30pm; Baldock Community Hub Monday 2 November 3.30 to 6.30pm; Hitchin Town Hall Monday 9 November 3.30 to 6.30pm; Mrs Howard Memorial Hall, Letchworth, Tuesday 10 November 2.30 to 5.30pm. Comments close 5pm, 24 November 2026.
The remaining drop-in sessions, from the council's consultation page. Graphic by Stevenage Today
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Two times differ between the council’s press release and its consultation page, which was last updated on 12 October. The page gives 2.30 to 5.30pm for Graveley on 27 October and for Mrs Howard Memorial Hall, Letchworth, on 10 November; the release gives 3.30 to 6.30pm for both. The table above uses the page. If you are planning around the Graveley session, arriving between 3.30 and 5.30pm covers both versions.

If you need a sign language interpreter or other support at a session, the council asks for at least five working days’ notice to yourlocalplan@north-herts.gov.uk.

What it means for you

  • Read it: the Content and Evidence Document is online as a PDF, with an Easy Read version and its own response form.
  • Respond: comments on the document go through the council’s PlaceMaker consultation platform, linked from the same page. Comments on individual sites go on the Call for Sites map.
  • On paper: printed copies are at the Customer Service Centre in the council offices on Gernon Road, Letchworth (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday), and at the libraries in Letchworth, Baldock, Hitchin, Knebworth and Royston.
  • Help: call 01462 464000 or email yourlocalplan@north-herts.gov.uk if you need help completing the survey.
  • Deadline: 5pm, Tuesday 24 November 2026.

If you live in Stevenage borough itself, this is not your council’s plan, but sites on the town’s edge, from Great Ashby to Knebworth, are in it. Stevenage’s own planning picture is in our report on the last 408 homes approved east of Stevenage, and the paused county shake-up that the North Herts document also mentions is in our merger story.