philip

Developers eye Water Gardens sites

• Billion-pound-turnover housebuilder Hill Group is working with Dacorum Council on a plan for 'affordable housing' on Hemel's Water Gardens car parks
• The scheme is not mentioned in the most recent Dacorum Local Plan
• The listed Water Gardens are nationally celebrated for their innovative 1950s design and environmental value
• A Hill Group/Dacorum 'feasibility study' will also cover the extra parking needed for the Market Square 'neighbourhood health centre'.
• The car parks are currently well screened from the Water Gardens themselves by skilful planting
• The Water Gardens sites are seen as a 'priority' for housing development under the Dacorum Investment Partnership (DIP)
• DIP is a  a 50:50 controlled Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) between DBC and Hill Investment Partnerships
• Detailed plans for these and other DIP schemes are being kept from the public 
• The Council claims the full DIP investment plan must remain secret because it contains 'Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person'
• The plans were set out in this committee paper: https://democracy.dacorum.gov.uk/documents/s49761/FR%20OSC%2014-01-26%20Dacorum%20Investment%20Partnership%20Plan.pdf

• This is the agenda for the relevant Finance Committee meeting:

https://democracy.dacorum.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=130&MId=4077

by philip

Will billion-pound housebuilders have a say in the future of our Hospital?

• Local health body seeks answers on role of major housebuilders in future of our Hospital and the Market Square and Water Gardens heritage sites
• 'Dacorum Investment Partnership (DIP) was announced last year as 'an equal investment and decision-making collaboration between Dacorum Council and The Hill Group.' 
• The Hill Group made record profits of £90m in 2024-25 on record turnover of over £1.1bn.
• DIP will, according to the partners 'focus on meeting local housing needs and revitalising key town centre and neighbourhood sites.'
• DBC says 'A key priority will be Hemel Hempstead town centre, where our Town Centre Vision sets out plans to transform it into a thriving culture and leisure hub.'
• Dacorum Health Action Group (DHAG) has written to Dacorum Council Leader Sally Symington to ask whether The Hill Group has been or will be involved in decisions about developments on the current Hospital site, the Market Square or the Water Gardens.
• The link to the DIP announcement is here:
• https://www.dacorum.gov.uk/home/all-news/2025/08/11/investment-partnership-to-deliver-affordable-new-homes-and-regeneration

by philip

Heritage watchdog 'strongly advises' against Market Square Hub

• Heritage and environment watchdog Historic England (HE) 'strongly advises' Dacorum Borough Council against allowing the Health Hub to be built on Market Square
• There are fears the five-storey Hub could help create a 'canyon' effect on the lovely historic gardens, one of Hemel's key green spaces
• The nation's history experts make scathing criticism of the £135m scheme
• Historic England 'objects in principle' to the 'infilling' of the open space by the five storey Hub 
• HE says the Market Square and Water Gardens were carefully designed in the 1950s by  Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe, one of the 20th century's leading landscape architects 'at the very heart of the New Town.'
• The Market Square is said to be one of 'several viewpoints across the [Water] Gardens providing views to the opposite side of the valley ... establishing a connection between the old and new towns.' 
• Jellicoe 'advocated for Waterhouse Street to be set back to some extent and maintained at a low height, similar to the three-storey blocks at the corner of Bridge Street.'
• He wanted to prevent 'a 'canyon' effect, which would not only encroach upon the gardens but also create an illusion of reduced size.'
• 'there was a strong intention for the town centre and the water gardens to relate to one another'.
• So 'it is concerning that the new Local Plan is proposing the Square as a development site to be filled-in with new buildings.'
• This would  lead to the loss of an important area of open space and part of the urban design of the town.'
• HE 'object in principle to the allocation of this site, and we strongly advise the Council should delete this allocation.'
• Below is the link to HE's letter to the Council (see the list under H for Historic England):
• https://letstalk.dacorum.gov.uk/responses-to-regulation-19-consultation
• OR
• https://ehq-production-europe.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/7c2743950042e5240d9adae8465fd415cb9294dd/original/1740502911/ed247e0e1ad17811375c31c5a58d884e_ID-1588%20Historic%20England%20Representation%20POSTAL626_Redacted.pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4KKNQAKIPIPQP5NM%2F20260111%2Feu-west-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20260111T034207Z&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=9f617de0a52a4ce3498b07c6dc1a8f8a4069122c84398c55fe3a732265cd4098

by philip

Hub would harm Hemel's heritage, says national watchdog

• Historic England, the national heritage expert body, says the Market Square Hub would harm important parts of Hemel's heritage.
• It has asked for the allocation of the Hub to the Square to be reversed.
• The body is concerned at the impact of development and high-rise buildings on the heritage of the Water Gardens area, according to a 2025 report on Local Plan consultations.
• Historic England, opposing previous plans for development on the Market Square, said in 2024 that 'the market square forms an important part of the setting of the Grade II Registered Water Gardens ... while the Market Square itself is an important part of the New Town’s urban design.' Historic England urged that the site should be used as 'enhanced public realm [open space]'.
• The Hertfordshire Gardens Trust is also against the siting of the Hub, and said that, in Market Square:

1. there should be no high-rise buildings,
2. the frontage along Waterhouse Street should be set back from the road, and
3. the key views through to Hillfield Road should be retained.'

by philip

Dacorum Council could replace Hospital with up to 600 flats

• Dacorum Borough Council is considering putting up to 600 flats on the site of Hemel Hospital - which it hopes to demolish
• That would be a huge rise of 33% on current plans 
• Existing allocations allow for 450 flats on the 12-acre site 
• BUT a new document reveals why the Council now wants to flatten the whole Hospital site.
• It says it could put scores more homes there. 
• In 2023 the Council expected to put 'around 150 dwellings' on the Market Square site
• However building the Hub on the Market Square will mean that that there will be no room there for homes. The Council says there is 'potential' for using the current Hospital site instead
• A Dacorum BC document sent in November to Government inspectors says: 
• 'Allocation for healthcare uses removes the ability of the [Market Square] site to deliver homes, however it is noted that once hospital facilities are relocated onto this site there would be potential for Hemel089 [Hemel Hospital] to be further optimised.'
• This gives the game away - our spacious Hospital site could be totally cleared to make way for more and more flats
• Meanwhile services would be squeezed onto the one-acre Market Square

by philip

Hold-up for Hemel Health Hub as NHS delays decision

• Setback for plan to close Hemel Hospital and replace it with a Market Square Hub
• The bid for £135m public money for the closure/Hub has been held up as regional NHS bosses say more time is needed for consideration
• Dacorum Council and the West Herts Trust had hoped to get the bid rubber-stamped in a crucial 28 November regional meeting
• But it was not on the agenda 
• A merger and shake-up of regional NHS jobs is being officially blamed for the slowdown
• Regional bosses are said to be 'supportive of the overall approach taken' by Dacorum and the Trust'
• But regional 'leadership changes' mean that they need to 'explore funding opportunities in the new year, and to determine how the SOC will be considered within the interim arrangements for ICB governance that are expected to be in place until April 2026.'
• There is no new date for the decision as the arguments for and against the closure appear to be opening up again
• The secretive process of closing the Hospital and building the WORST OPTION Hub is stuttering
• Now is the time for councillors to push for proper open public consultation on the future of our hospital services.

by philip

Trust's neglect has created a town centre eyesore for Hemel

• This is what local NHS bosses have done to a key site in Hemel's town centre
• Cheere House is a minute or two from the Marlowes
• It was Hemel's first dedicated hospital building - but years of Trust neglect have reduced it to a dilapidated eyesore, blighting the heart of our town
• Contrary to misinformation from official sources, many of the buildings on the 5-hectare Hemel Hospital site are in usable condition
• But Cheere House, built nearly 200 years ago, is an exception that shames NHS bosses
• West Herts Trust have left this historic building in a dilapidated state in a years-long act of planned neglect
• WHAT IS THE SOLUTION FOR THIS MESS?
• FLATS: The Trust and Dacorum Council want to see the development of hundreds more flats, taking over the whole Hospital site and building a Market Square Health Hub as a replacement
• A NEW HOSPITAL: The last time independent experts assessed the options, in 2018, they chose this as the site for a NEW local hospital with good parking and access. It could have room for necessary expansion as our population grows
• WHICH IS THE BETTER OPTION?

by philip

The experts' choice for a new hospital site

• This is what three top expert firms chose as the BEST site for a NEW local Hospital in Hemel. Zoom in on the image below.
• This plan was drawn up by these independent professionals the last time the NHS looked at the future for our Hospital, in 2016-18
• It would use part of the existing Hospital site - see the area in blue
• It would be on the corner of King Harry Street and Hillfield Road, very close to the Marlowes and bus stops
• To start with, 'Option 2' would provide the services currently at the Hospital 
• BUT IT WOULD HAVE TWO MAJOR ADVANTAGES OVER THE CRAMPED MARKET SQUARE OPTION:

1. There would be plenty of room for dedicated parking
2. There would be plenty of room for the expansion of facilities that will be necessary as our population grows and ages

• The plan would allow room for over 400 apartments (in yellow) but recent planning changes mean the number could be reduced.

by philip

Dossier of damaging evidence on Hemel Hub to be sent to Council and NHS

• The last time the NHS and Dacorum Council considered possible sites for a new local hospital, technical experts advised them AGAINST using Market Square
• At the time, 2016-18, independent technical consultancies said the best place for a NEW HOSPITAL would be on part of the existing hospital site 
• That plot is close to the Marlowes, with potential for easy access from King Harry Street
• That option - not considered in the current process - got an expert rating of over 80%. 
• By contrast, the Market Square option came out JOINT BOTTOM of a list of possible sites, with just 50%,  failing to impress on:

1. Deliverability
2. Functional suitability and operational efficiency
3. Strategic flexibility
4. Wider economic benefit

• The evidence is set out in a dossier of documents that will be sent in the New Year to the Council and the West Herts Trust:

1. Key parts of a draft Feasibility Study on the Redevelopment of Hemel Hempstead Hospital commissioned by the Council and the NHS. These public bodies deny now having this 70+ page document.
2. A 57-page draft Strategic Outline Case which went through a lengthy process of discussion by Council and NHS bodies in 2017 and 2018. 

• There have been no fundamental changes in the situation at Hemel since 2018
• This is worrying evidence that the NHS and Dacorum Council are WRONG to push forward with the plan to replace Hemel Hospital with a Market Square Hub.

by philip