Local communities to shape The Crown Estate’s ambitious proposals for ‘East Hemel’
The Crown Estate is inviting local residents in and around Hemel Hempstead to help shape its ambitious proposals for land to the east of the town, as it announces a series of community engagement events in October for East Hemel.
Situated across 975 acres between Redbourn Road and Hemel Hempstead Road, to the west of the M1, East Hemel has potential to deliver transformational change within and around Hemel Hempstead through high-quality new homes, new community facilities, schools, new transport links and green spaces that support health, wellbeing and a thriving natural environment.
The Crown Estate’s land at East Hemel forms half of the wider Hemel Garden Communities (HGC) programme – a long-term commitment to transform Hemel Hempstead, aiming to deliver in total up to 11,000 new homes and 10,000 new jobs by 2050. The ‘East Hemel’ site has the potential to be the first phase of HGC to be developed and support the wider ambitions of the programme.
The Crown Estate is putting community participation at the heart of its engagement programme, working closely with local residents to ensure proposals are shaped with a shared understanding of local needs.
The proposals for East Hemel are at an early stage, with a comprehensive programme of engagement taking place over the next 15 months ahead of a formal planning application. As part of the first phase of public engagement held over the coming weeks, The Crown Estate is seeking to understand more about life in the area, as well as the local community’s ideas and ambitions for East Hemel.
The Crown Estate is also engaging separately on an innovative pilot housing project at Westwick Row, Leverstock Green, alongside its development partner TOWN. This project will look to test different approaches to working with the local community and future residents, as well as targeting UK-leading sustainability standards.
Rob Chesworth, Head of Strategic Land at The Crown Estate, said:
“We are really excited by the opportunity at East Hemel, which has the potential to deliver jobs, homes, schools, green space and other community benefits for generations to come.”
“The upcoming engagement events will be a great opportunity to better understand local residents and their communities. We hope as many people as possible will take part and share their views to help create a place that can thrive both now and in the future.”
The East Hemel site is allocated for development in St Albans City & District Council’s (SADC) draft Local Plan. The emerging Local Plan will set the planning policy for how areas should be designed and developed.
Upcoming engagement events
The Crown Estate is holding five drop-in events at five different locations. Local residents are welcome to attend any of the events to meet the team, share their views and ask questions.
The events are:
Leverstock Green: Saturday 12 October 2024, 12:30-16:30 – Leverstock Green Village Hall (Representatives from TOWN will also be at the Leverstock Green event to answer any questions and share further information on the Westwick Row pilot project)
Hemel Hempstead Town Centre: Tuesday 15 October 2024, 15:00-17:00 – Hemel Hempstead Library
Maylands: Wednesday 16 October 2024, 13:30-15:30 – Adeyfield Free Church
Woodhall Farm: Wednesday 16 October 2024, 17:00-20:00 – Holtsmere End Junior School
Redbourn: Thursday 17 October 2024, 18:00-21:00 – Redbourn Village Centenary Room
This project website has been updated with further details on East Hemel, Westwick Row and the upcoming engagement events. The website also provides an online forum via Commonplace where people can share their views.