Thank you for your support in trying to stop the overdevelopment of new housing in Welwyn. Your support added to the pressure on our Councillors and they have now decided to revise their Local Plan proposal - none of the 246 houses around Singlers Marsh are now in that plan, and they have removed the idea of widening the road and bridge using Singlers Marsh land.

So we have won the first battle – but not yet the war.

The next stage is a consultation. Then WHBC councillors could amend the Local Plan again. And then it has to go to the government's Inspector who could still reject it - or just impose his own changes on us.

At each stage the Singlers Marsh sites could be reintroduced.

So we need to keep up the lobbying pressure.

The public campaign is being coordinated by the Welwyn Planning and Amenity Group (WPAG), working closely with our Councillors.

If you would like to be kept up to date with the latest twist and turns and find out how you could help, just register for our Newsletter at https://www.wpag.org.uk/newsletters-subscribe

WPAG is a non-political, voluntary group whose aim is to protect Welwyn’s unique character and improve the amenities for all. It covers Welwyn in the broadest sense, including Oaklands, Mardley Heath, Singlers Marsh/Fulling Mill Lane and Digswell, as well as Welwyn village.  WPAG is a registered charity, run by a committee of interested locals.

An example of a recent success was the siting of a new cashpoint at Tesco’s after Barclays closed. Quick action and the ability to bring together interested parties enabled it to happen, when all seemed lost.

An example of our current lobbying work is pressurising the county's Highways department to have a traffic mitigation plan ready for whenever work actually starts on improving the A1(M).

We now know that the borough council was willing to sell part of Singlers Marsh so that the road and bridge could be widened, despite it being a local nature reserve as well as our local parkland.  As well as continuing to lobby against the housing developments themselves, WPAG is looking into ways to protect Singlers Marsh more permanently.

If you would like to know more about what’s going on in your area, or Welwyn as a whole, please sign up to receive our Newsletter. We only produce it when there is some real news, so it won't clog your inbox.  You can sign up at https://www.wpag.org.uk/newsletters-subscribe

Or to find out more about current issues, and how you can get involved, visit https://www.wpag.org.uk

Thank you again for supporting our petition. We hope you will sign up to our newsletter, and we look forward to hearing from you.