Water Gardens car parking could be ‘intensified’ to meet Hub demands
- Dacorum Council has finally admitted that more car parking will be needed for the Market Square Health Hub
- In the past, councillors have dismissed fears that the Water Gardens car parks would be too small to cope
- A Council officer told last week’s Finance Committee that more spaces would be needed in the Water Gardens car park area .
- The extra parking would be part of the residential and other development closely bordering the historic Water Gardens
- The officer said: ‘there is potential to intensify parking in certain [Water Gardens site] areas which would free up development space which could be for both housing and leisure uses.’
- That could mean extra floor[s] for the Water Gardens car park
- That would complete a double whammy for the listed green space –
- Planning also continues for the five-storey Market Square Health Hub just across the road
- Historic England fear that insensitive buildings would create a darkening ‘canyon effect’ for the Gardens.
- The heritage watchdog is opposed ‘in principle’ to the Hub, because it would mean ‘the loss of an important area of open space
and part of the urban design of the town.’