Public Health and planning

How Public Health works with planning in Hertfordshire The role of Public Health in planning Health impact assessments (HIAs) Contact us

How we work with planning in Hertfordshire

We work with partner organisations to make sure health is considered in new developments across the county.

To help with this, we created two key documents:

Health and Wellbeing Planning Guidance - this explains what we expect from developers to create healthy communities.
Hertfordshire Development Quality Charter - aiming to achieve a new benchmark for high quality and sustainable development in Hertfordshire.

The role of Public Health in planning

Our Public Health service doesn't have legal planning duties and isn't required to be consulted on planning proposals. However, we think it's important to get involved in planning to make sure health and wellbeing are considered, as outlined in our Public Health Strategy 2022- 2027.

We can't review every planning application, so we focus on those that are big enough or significant enough to impact people's health.

We might find out about a planning application on its own or be contacted by a planning authority or community group.

What we can do

Public Health can:

engage in the planning process to inform planning policy development
respond to planning applications and planning policy consultations
make recommendations to planning authorities and developers on how to positively incorporate health and wellbeing into proposals.

Responses to planning proposals will be objective, considered, measured, balanced and informed by scientific evidence. Public Health's priority is promoting and protecting the health of Hertfordshire's residents.

What we cannot do

Public Health does not have the power or duty to:

exercise any form of “call in” on an application or proposal
make a decision on a planning application
stop, suspend or rescind a planning application
enforce a planning condition
make requests for healthcare provision (such as GP surgeries and increased hospital capacity). This is the role of Hertfordshire’s Clinical Commissioning Groups and NHS England.

What we will do

Public Health will:

recommend that a health impact assessment (HIA) is undertaken for all major plans, policies and development proposals.

recommend that all plans, policies and development proposals have regards to our Planning, Health and Wellbeing Guidance.

if we consider it necessary, consult independent experts such as environmental scientists at Public Health England to help inform, advise or provide external review of our conclusions and advice.

To discuss a specific issue, email Public Health.

Visit GOV.UK for more information on the role of health and wellbeing in planning.

Health impact assessments (HIA)

Since there are no national guidelines on HIAs, we have produced a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) Position Statement.

It explains our view on HIAs in planning and gives clear advice to planners and developers. Our goal is to make sure all HIAs that are submitted with planning applications are done consistently and to a high standard.

Submit a Hertfordshire HIA

Planners and developers now have the option to complete a Hertfordshire HIA using the digital platform PlaceChangers. This allows applicants access to specific insights into local demographics, including health, housing and open spaces.

Start your free account on PlaceChangers.

Disclaimer: This tool is hosted by an external provider, and we are not responsible for the content and performance of external sites. Charges may apply.

Contact us

You can reach the Healthy Places team at HealthyPlaces@hertfordshire.gov.uk.

We welcome your feedback, questions, and suggestions. If you know of a project or work we should be involved with, please let us know.

Resources

Appendices, produced by the Wales Health Impact Assessment Support Unit:

Appendix A - Vulnerable populations groups (PDF 146KB)
Appendix B - Health and wellbeing determinants checklist (PDF 167KB)
Appendix C - Screening toolkit/Rapid HIA template (PDF 275KB)Opening in a new window
Appendix D - Scoping toolkit (PDF 274KB)Opening in a new window
Appendix E - Quality assurance toolkit (PDF 4.35MB)opening in a new window