Station Details

Knebworth

Station NameKnebworth
Station CodeKBW
Station OwnerGovia Thameslink Railway (Great Northern)
Developable Area63.08ha
Development Capacity3,154 homes (at 50dph)
Local Planning AuthorityNorth Hertfordshire
2021 Housing Delivery Test - Homes Required2,537
2021 Housing Delivery Test - Homes Delivered1,248
2021 Housing Delivery Test - Score49%
2021 Housing Delivery Test - ConsequencePresumption
Green BeltLondon
Green Belt Area62.2ha ( 98.6% of the potential development area)
Network Rail RegionEast of England
Network Rail Sub-RegionBedfordshire and Hertfordshire
Passengers, 2020 - 2021129,664
Passengers, 2019 - 2020547,168
UK Station Passenger Rank (Use)812

Development Potential

England's busiest station (apart from those serving airports) had 4,170,558 passenger movements in the period 2019-2020. The station with the least was 68. Knebworth station had 547,168 passengers enter or exit it during this period. That's roughly 1,503 people per day.

For a station with this number of passengers passing through it each year a density of 50 homes per hectare is reasonable, based on its proximity to major population centres and existing infrastructure.

Knebworth is located within the East of England railway region. The potential area for development around the station (excluding existing buildings, national parks, flood zones, public green space, protected habitats, areas of outstanding natural beauty, world heritage sites and surface water) is approximately 63.08ha.

Assuming an appropriate (but not prevailing) development density of 50 dwellings per hectare, this area has a development capacity of around 3,154 homes.

The station sits within North Hertfordshire planning authority, which in 2021 achieved a Housing Delivery Test Score of 49%, having delivered 1,248 homes from a target of 2,537. As a result of this score, the authority is subject to a 'presumption in favour of sustainable development', according to the NPPF.

The total capacity of all North Hertfordshire's stations is 5,671 homes. That's 224% of its total 2021 Housing Delivery Test requirement.

Taking green belt into account, the capacity of North Hertfordshire's stations is 44 homes without building on protected land. That's 2% of its total 2021 Housing Delivery Test requirement.