A controversial application to redevelop a former Borehamwood stables into housing has been passed at the third attempt.
Hertsmere Borough Council's planning committee voted by five votes to four to approve the scheme at Cowley Hill stables during a meeting on October 14.
Existing buildings will be demolished and 16 new homes will be built on the site including a block of six affordable homes.
Developer Griggs Homes said it is "delighted" to have received permission and says it is looking forward to starting work soon.
This was the third time an application to redevelop the stables had come to the committee following two deferrals earlier this year.
A total of 276 objections had been lodged by members of the public, and during the debate, some of the biggest concerns raised by councillors related to development within the green belt and the need for stables in the area.
Council planning officer Georgia O'Brien gave what head of planning Ross Whear described as a "very comprehensive and detailed presentation", which sought to respond to questions raised by members at previous meetings.
Ms O'Brien said the council had concluded the stables scheme caused "moderate harm" to the green belt rather than "substantial harm" which meant the applicants did not need to demonstrate "very special circumstances" to receive permission.
She also reminded members the site is previously developed with 65 per cent of the development site designated as brownfield land.
Labour committee member Christian Gray said "a lot of green belt could be destroyed here" and appeared frustrated there was not a CGI of the scheme in the presentation which he believed would show "substantial harm" to the green belt.
Ms O'Brien also explained why the scheme, which is within the parish of Shenley, complied with planning policies within the recently approved Shenley Neighbourhood Plan - despite some members pointing out Shenley Parish Council, responsible for the plan, had signalled its opposition to Griggs' application.
The biggest debate appeared to centre around whether there is still a need for a stables or equine facility in Borehamwood and the surrounding area.
In Ms O'Brien's presentation, she said the British Horse Society had been consulted on an equestrian needs assessment that had been provided by the applicants - but the society did not provide any opinion on whether it meant the scheme should be approved or not.
The committee were told by Ms O'Brien the assessment provided showed there are "multiple livery vacancies" across the Cowley Hill catchment area including large, mid-sized, and small stables.
But later in the meeting, Professor Tim Morris, who Labour Cowley Hill councillor Michelle Vince described as an "established expert" in the equine industry, submitted his own equestrian needs assessment which alleged 19 vacancies across 43 stables with a waiting list of 81.
Professor Morris, who was speaking against the application, said in his speech to the committee the application is "likely to go to a judicial review" if it is not rejected.
Cllr Vince, speaking as a community advocate, said the Cowley Hill stables had been vacant since 2019 and claimed in the meeting the leaseholder of the stables had been "constructively evicted".
She said this is a "much needed" equine facility and said there were "interested parties" in the stables but claimed "no one had been able to get any information about future use".
After a debate of nearly an hour, Labour group leader Jeremy Newmark brought forward a motion to go against the planning officer's recommendation and refuse the scheme.
He said he had not seen a "definitive" equine assessment and disputed the officer's comments about a shortage in housing supply because he said a new local plan will be in place that will unlock housing sites.
However Cllr Newmark's motion did not receive enough support so Conservative member Cllr Quilty proposed to approve the scheme.
His party colleagues Cllrs John Graham, Ruth Lyon, Farida Turner, and chairman Linda Silver voted in favour, while Labour’s Cllrs Newmark and Gray, Lib Dem Cllr Jerry Evans, and Tory councillor Brett Rosehill voted against.
Shenley Tory councillor Anthony Spencer was not present at the meeting due to illness while his colleague Cllr Glen Briski told members he would not be taking part in the Cowley Hill decision because of previous incidents relating to this application.
Earlier in the day, Cllr Briski posted a statement on Facebook community group Well End Ers in which he apologised for comments he made about Griggs Homes at a meeting on July 15.
Cllr Briski had described an email sent about him to the council's legal department from Griggs Homes as "very aggressive" and had described Griggs in the meeting as "very dishonest".
Griggs Homes had written to the council requesting Cllr Briski not take part in the July 15 planning meeting believing he had "pre-determined" his vote on their stables scheme after he wrote on the Well End Ers page on July 14 that the application "would likely be deferred".
Cllr Briski posted on October 14 it had been "agreed with Griggs' lawyers" he put the apology on the Well End Ers group as well as read it out at the planning meeting.
Cllr Briski did not read his apology statement at the meeting.
Related: Borehamwood councillor apologises for comments about developer
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