Former The Princess Helena College School Lane Preston Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ Data via plota.co.uk

Decided 25/01928/DOC
Council
North Hertfordshire 6.9/10
Date received
4 Aug 2025
Date validated
4 Aug 2025
Postcode
SG4 7TZ

Description

Details reserved by BNG Condition of planning permission reference granted 17/07/2025 Data via plota.co.uk

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Last checked

Associated applications 3

  • Part of

    FullApprovedcouncil archive

    Conditions 4 discharged

Site constraints 7

Green belt: London
Inappropriate development needs very special circumstances.
Green belt policy allows a short list of exceptions, such as limited extensions and replacement buildings. Anything else needs very special circumstances that clearly outweigh the harm. Some green belt land can count as grey belt, where it does not strongly serve the green belt's purposes. The council decides this in its green belt assessment or on each application, so we do not mark it here.
Read the government guidance ↗
Registered park or garden: Temple Dinsley
Nationally designated heritage. Its significance and setting carry great weight.
Registered parks and gardens, battlefields, world heritage sites and protected wrecks are designated heritage assets: harm needs clear and convincing justification.
Historic England ↗
Preston conservation area
Demolition needs planning permission and permitted development is restricted.
The council must give weight to preserving or enhancing the area's character and appearance. Not every council has published its boundaries as open data.
Council document ↗
Agricultural land, grade 3a
Best and most versatile land (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Source: the Predictive Agricultural Land Classification Map (Defra and Natural England, 2025; the Welsh Government's Predictive ALC Map 2 in Wales), a model rather than a site survey. Natural England's Provisional ALC map (1:250,000, 1970s) agrees.
Where development of farmland is needed, policy prefers poorer land over the best and most versatile (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Three sources: Natural England's post-1988 field surveys, which are definitive where they exist; the Defra predictive map for England (2025) and the Welsh Government predictive map, modelled from the soil map with 3a and 3b split; and the 1970s provisional map, which planners and other services still show, coarser and with grade 3 undivided. Where the provisional and predicted grades disagree, treat the predicted grade as the current estimate and expect an application to carry its own survey.
Habitat network: Network Enhancement Zone 1
Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.
3 listed buildings within 150 m
Nearest: Princess Helena College, Temple Dinsley, With Terraces, Steps, Walls, Railings, Gates, Pergolas, and Garden Buildings, Grade II*, 44 m away · 1 Grade II*, 2 Grade II
The site itself is not listed. Listed building consent is needed for work that affects the special interest of a listed building, inside or out, on top of planning permission. Setting can be a consideration for buildings nearby; there is no fixed radius.
Show all 3 with distances
Historic England ↗
Also on the record
SSSI 343 m away: Wain Wood SSSI.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · No scheduled monument at the site

Checked on 14 October 2026. Historic England, the Environment Agency, Natural England and council datasets, Open Government Licence. A boundary can run through a site and the council holds the definitive record: confirm with the council before relying on this.

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Other new applications on this street

2 Sept 2026Approved

Dinsley Field School Lane Preston Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 7UE

T1, T2, T4, T5: Conifer - Reduce by 50%. T3: Sycamore - Reduce by 30%.

26/02204/TCA

Nearby new applications

6 Oct 2026Pending

The Cedars Back Lane Preston Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 7UJ

G1, G2, G3, G4, G5, G6: Scots Pine - Remove.

26/02538/TPO
21 Sept 2026Decided

Kiln Wood School Lane Preston Hertfordshire

Ash - reduce by 50% Oak (dead) - Fell

26/02372/5DN
2 Sept 2026Approved

Dinsley Field School Lane Preston Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 7UE

T1, T2, T4, T5: Conifer - Reduce by 50%. T3: Sycamore - Reduce by 30%.

26/02204/TCA

Historical activity at this location

25 nearby applications on record - archival context, not part of the live application.

Within ~100m

Nearby activity

2025 Approved
4 Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
Erection of boundary wall and railings to replace the existing painted timber fence and i…
25/00857/LBC
2025 Approved
4 Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
Erection of boundary wall and railings to replace the existing painted timber fence and i…
25/00856/FPH
2025 Approved
4 Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
Erection of boundary wall and railings to replace the existing painted timber fence and i…
25/00857/LBC
2025 Approved
4 Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
Erection of boundary wall and railings to replace the existing painted timber fence and i…
25/00856/FPH
2025 Approved
Barn Adjacent Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
New 5 bar gate to existing access to replace existing gate, new driveway to amended parki…
25/00812/FPH
2025 Approved
Barn Adjacent Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
New 5 bar gate to existing access to replace existing gate, new driveway to amended parki…
25/00812/FPH
2024 Approved
Land North East Of Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hertfordshire
Erection of one self-build detached 6-bed dwelling including parking and landscaping and…
24/01691/FP
2024 Approved
5 Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
Single storey rear extension following removal of existing detached outbuilding
24/00047/LBC
2024 Approved
5 Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
Single storey rear extension following removal of existing detached outbuilding
24/00046/FPH
2023 Approved
Barn Adjacent Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
Addition of two-storey side extension comprising carport and bedroom to dwelling under co…
22/03113/FP
2023 Approved
Barn Adjacent Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
Single storey side extension incorporating lower ground floor accommodation to be impleme…
23/00141/LBC
2023 Approved
Barn Adjacent Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
Addition of two-storey side extension comprising carport and bedroom to dwelling under co…
22/03113/FP
2023 Approved
Barn Adjacent Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
Single storey side extension incorporating lower ground floor accommodation to be impleme…
23/00141/LBC
2023 Approved
5 Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
T1 Yew - Reduce by 3m and shape
23/02559/TCA
2023 Approved
5 Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
T1 Yew - Reduce by 3m and shape
23/02559/TCA
2021 Approved
1 Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
Erection of single storey extension to the North-Eastern elevation
21/03006/FPH
2021 Approved
1 Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
Erection of single storey extension to the North-Eastern elevation.
21/03007/LBC
2021 Approved
1 Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
Erection of single storey extension to the North-Eastern elevation
21/03006/FPH
2021 Approved
1 Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
Erection of single storey extension to the North-Eastern elevation.
21/03007/LBC
2021 Withdrawn
5 Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
Erection of front porch.
21/00305/LBC
2019 Withdrawn
Barn Adjacent Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hertfordshire
Single storey side and rear extensions, associated external and internal alterations to a…
19/00807/LBC
2019 Approved
Land Adjacent Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
Proposed GRP padmount substation site (Ref: SC/1187a)
19/00751/SU
2019 Approved
The Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
Proposed electricity works (your ref: SC/1187a)
19/00172/SU
2017 Approved
The Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
Change of use and extension of school dormitory (C2) to form 6 no. dwellings (C3), incorp…
17/02800/1
2017 Approved
The Dower House Hitchin Road Preston Hitchin Hertfordshire SG4 7TZ
Change of use and extension of school dormitory (C2) to form 6 no. dwellings (C3), incorp…
17/02801/1LB
North Hertfordshire
Planning Authority Score
6.9/10
Good
#66 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Householder decisions

North Hertfordshire ranks #128 out of 296 councils for householder decision speed. Householder applications are slightly more likely to be approved here (95%) than the national average (90%).

These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
North Hertfordshire decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
93%
Overall approval rate
Above avg (87%) #62 of 296
95%
Householder approved
Above avg (90%) #87 of 296
69%
Decided in 8 weeks
Above avg (63%) #128 of 296
32%
Extended time limit
Below avg (41%) #65 of 296
82%
Minor dwellings approved
112 decided (1-9 homes)
84%
Major dwellings approved
19 decided (10+ homes)
90%
Change of use approved
21 decided
1,102
Total decisions
82 refused in the year to March 2026
Source: MHCLG planning statistics · See full council rankings