The Local Plan is so far only shelved, not cancelled or changed. As things stand, Bushey will lose 220 acres of greenbelt to make way for 2,900 new homes. The primary reason is the housing targets imposed on the borough by government - which are 40% above the national average and take no account of our greenbelt status.
Council leaders have, sadly, been reluctant to challenge these figures. But Bushey Lib Dems have worked with residents to take the fight direct to Whitehall. And today, county councillor Laurence Brass, alongside campaigners Theresa Smith, Miles Ponder and Andy Williams delivered a 1,333-signature petition to housing secretary Michael Gove. The petition calls on him to reduce our housing targets - by 50% - to much fairer levels.
Each signature represents a resident who's fighting to protect their greenbelt. A resident who wants their voice to be heard. A resident who'll stand up to be counted.
The need to give Bushey a fairer deal becomes more urgent by the day. The prospective developers of the Harts Farm (Little Bushey Lane) site are even now trying to downgrade its environmental classification, seemingly as a pre-cursor for an application to build 350 homes and a school.
It's possible they would try to use the borough's targets as justification for building on greenbelt, to force their way through the planning system.
Quite simply, our housing targets make our greenbelt a sitting duck for developers.
So we urge Mr Gove take heed of the message this petition so emphatically conveys. Because if he believes Bushey will simply roll over and let its greenbelt be bulldozed, he's picked the wrong community.
Bushey Lib Dems say the appeal must be refused: There are no Very Special Circumstances. Residents are overwhelmingly opposed to the development. The site is environmentally sensitive and a flood plain. It would likely generate 1,000 daily car journeys.
