Plans for 220 homes on the edge of Borehamwood have been approved at appeal.

The planning application to build between Barnet Lane and Furzehill Road, submitted by BDW Trading Ltd in June 2023, was refused in July this year before the ultimately successful appeal was launched.

Hertsmere Borough Council had blocked it for constituting inappropriate development in the green belt. It said the benefits of providing housing did not outweighing the harm to the green belt land to the degree necessary to create the “very special circumstances” needed to build there.

However, in his decision, published on Wednesday (November 27), the planning inspector said that “very special circumstances” did exist because the council currently cannot demonstrate where enough housing will be built to meet targets in the borough.

The decision letter added that the local plan-making process has “significantly stalled” and claimed that “in a borough which is 80 per cent green belt and has limited brownfield land available it is inevitable that a significant amount of future housing development is going to have to take place on land that is currently green belt”.

Design showing where the 220 homes would be built, between Barnet Lane and Furzehill Road.. (Image: Hertsmere Borough Council)

Substantial weight was also given to half of the homes being designated as affordable as well as the delivery of custom and self-build plots.

Residents submitted 1,996 objections to the development during the consultation period.

As it is an outline application, a full application including details of reserved matters will still need to be submitted and approved before development can go ahead.