Outline Planning Application

After an 18-month long programme of planning, design and engagement on plans for East Hemel, The Crown Estate has submitted an Outline Planning Application (OPA) to St Albans City & District Council and Dacorum Borough Council. 

The OPA for East Hemel is for up to 4,000 new homes, 53 ha of employment land and a range of supporting facilities, services and infrastructure. 

The application can be accessed on St Albans City & District Council's planning portal using the application reference 5/2025/1964. Members of the public can now make comments on the application as part of the statutory consultation which will run until 29th January 2026.

The purpose of an OPA is to determine whether a development is acceptable ‘in principle’ before more detailed plans are agreed.  OPAs are often used on large, strategic sites like East Hemel for the purpose of fixing the key elements of the proposals (known as ‘parameters’), including the scale of development as well as the location of different uses across the site and how key infrastructure required to support the new development is to be delivered (through a legal ‘Section 106’ agreement). The OPA will also demonstrate how the proposals align with local plan requirements. 

The Crown Estate has submitted a wide range of supporting documents as part of the OPA which summarise the comprehensive technical work that has been undertaken and how that has informed our proposals. These range from environmental and transport assessments to waste management plans, Design and Access Statement and the Statement of Community Involvement. 

The OPA will be determined by planning committee. Subject to the OPA being approved, we will then seek planning consent for further details, including ‘Reserved Matters’ applications, which will include detailed designs for the layout, buildings, landscape, open space and infrastructure in each part of the site. 

We will continue to update the website as we progress with the planning process and there will be further opportunities for the local community to get involved with future detailed proposals, following the submission of the OPA.