Policy information sourced from Dacorum Local Plan 2004 Alteration
84 Location of Recreational Mooring Basins and Lay-bys on the Grand Union Canal
Appropriate, generally small scale, recreational mooring basins and lay-bys will be permitted in urban areas and in the Green Belt outside the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, subject to the following criteria.
Proposals must:
- integrate successfully with the surrounding landscape or townscape (see Policies 98 and 106);
- be served by an adequate road access, not just for users of the facility but also for the removal of excavated material;
- cause no adverse effect on the nature conservation value of the canal and nearby land (see Policy 83);
- not result in the proliferation of basins and/or lay-bys where this would cause:
- the overloading of the local road system and consequent inconvenience and danger on it; or
- damage to the landscape and/or countryside; or
- loss of character of the Grand Union Canal as an important historic and visual feature and as a source of tranquillity in the urban and rural scene.
- make a positive contribution to the canalside environment (Policy 106).
In addition, and where appropriate, proposals should:
- offer advantages in canal management and use, such as relocation of boats from towpath moorings; and
- incorporate low-key informal recreation facilities (see Policy 106).
Proposals in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty will be judged according to the same criteria, and against the need to conserve the natural beauty of the landscape (see Policy 97).
Details will be required of the volume of material to be excavated, the method of disposal, and the formation of the new canal bank. If possible removal of excavated material should be by canal.
Car parking requirements will be related to the number of boats and the accessibility of the site by passenger transport using one space per three boats as a guideline.
For more information please see the Local Plan