A document which identifies land which could be developed for housing in and around St Albans has been withdrawn.

St Albans District Council has thrown out its local plan and will start again.

The local plan sets out land for future housing and employment opportunities between now and 2036, to meet demand for 913 new homes a year.

But earlier this year, government planning inspectors pointed to "serious concerns" surrounding the council's local plan

The inspectors said it was because of a "failure to cooperate with neighbouring local authorities over strategic matters" and whether they could accommodate some of the district’s housing target.

The council also dropped its opposition to the Radlett strategic rail freight interchange (SRFI) in Park Street, which it had earmarked for a garden village of 2,000 homes.

A decision to withdraw the local plan was made by the council's Cabinet on Thursday.

A draft Local Plan (LP) that identified land for development in St Albans District has been withdrawn.

The council says it is committed to producing another draft for the years to 2036 to help provide new housing and grow the local economy.

The council added there will be extensive consultations with neighbouring councils, landowners, developers, residents and other groups.

The draft that emerges will then have to be approved by full council and submitted to the Government for an examination before it is adopted.

A timetable for work on the new draft will be given to a meeting of the council’s planning policy committee next month.

Councillor Jamie Day, portfolio holder for planning, said: "We felt we had little choice but to withdraw the draft given the disappointing response of the planning inspectors.

"By starting anew, we have an opportunity to better address issues which have become ever more pressing since the withdrawn draft was composed.

"These include the need to recognise the impact of climate change and the need to ensure any new developments will meet strong sustainability standards.

"We also have to bear in mind that the Government has proposed major changes to the planning system and that may alter the whole local plan system.

"However, that is some way off, so we will carry on with the challenge of creating a new local plan under the current rules and look to see if we can gain some cross-party support for this difficult but highly important endeavour."