Controversial plans to built 3,600 homes west of Stevenage are to go back to the Secretary of State for reconsideration.

Planning permission was granted by the then Secretary of State in December 2009 despite opposition from North Herts District Council and Herts County Council. They submitted a legal challenge and on Monday (June 20) they heard that Mr Justice Ouseley has quashed the decision to grant planning permission.

The application now goes back to the Secretary of State for reconsideration. He could decide to re-open the inquiry or refuse planning permission.

Cllr Tom Brindley, NHDC Portfolio Holder for Planning, Transport and Enterprise, said: “We are very pleased with the decision. The application site is a huge open swathe of North Hertfordshire’s Green Belt and we have fought long and hard for more than 10 years to resist inappropriate development there.

“We strongly urge the Secretary of State to draw a line under this saga by refusing planning permission. Councils and communities should be allowed to come up with sustainable plans for the future, sorting out their real housing needs as they are today, under a Localism agenda.”