philip

Hemel Hospital - the great options they don't want you to see

• The NHS worked on two options for a new build local hospital on the current site, within easy reach of big stores Asda and Iceland
• They would be new like the Hub - but on a site that offers the chance for good parking
• The NHS and Council want you to forget them because they are committed to the Market Square Hub
• The two new build options for the current site had good ratings in the last independent expert assessment, in 2018:

a. A stand-alone new hospital (hub) located in the northwest part of the site. Demolish Cheere House and Tudor buildings and construct a three-storey compact
rectangular shape facility. Car parking is decked to meet the requirement. THAT WAS GIVEN 13 OUT OF 16 MARKS

b. A stand-alone new hospital (hub) located in the northeast part of the site. Demolish Windsor building and construct a three storey L shaped building at the northern
border. Car parking is decked to meet the requirement. THAT WAS GIVEN 12 OUT OF 16 MARKS

• And the Market Square option?- the experts gave that just 8 OUT OF 16
• And this is key - the independent site ratings assumed a very similar local hospital to the one being considered now.
• Why do the authorities keep pushing the ninth-rate Market Square when there are much better options for a new hospital -that would also allow homes to be built on the rest of the site?
• This is the post with the information on the last independent expert assessment:
• https://dhag.org.uk/news-updates/market-square-was-rejected-as-hospital-site-by-nhs/

by philip

Revealed - Hemel Hub to cost nearly £135 million

• The Market Square Hemel Health Hub will cost £134.8 million to build, according to new West Herts Trust papers
• The Hub will cost £7 million a year to run, offset by annual savings of £4.2m (eg new buildings save on maintenance costs)
• This is a big investment in Hemel, as forecast by the Council.
• But why spend it on a cramped site with no room to expand?
• Here are the Trust papers (see the second report in Item 6.3) :
• November_2025_board_papers

by philip

Council confusion over housing targets - why must Hemel Hospital close?

• Does Dacorum Council really need to demolish Hemel Hospital to make way for more housing?
• The Council claims 450 homes should be built on the site, as part of an effort across the Borough to meet Government housebuilding targets
• But, in a scathing report on Council planning, official inspectors have demanded the Council explain its figures on the numbers of homes needed across the Borough
• In particular they attack the Council for failing to provide 'clear and consolidated evidence which sets out the reasons and the judgements that have resulted in the [housing] site allocations contained in the submitted Local Plan.'
• The inspectors say it is 'unclear ... what processes the Council followed to decide which sites should be allocated [for housing] and the reasons why.' 
• Dacorum's confusion over housing sites raises an awkward question for the Council:
• WHY SHOULD ANYONE LISTEN TO YOU WHEN YOU CLAIM THE HOSPITAL SHOULD GO TO MAKE WAY FOR MORE FLATS AND HOUSES?
• The Inspectors' letter is below:
• Local Plan Inspectorate's First Response

by philip

NHS and Council keep public in dark about Hospital closure plan

• Key Council committee to push forward on Monday with Hemel Hospital closure plan
• Crucial information hidden from public as plans for substitute Market Square Hub to be approved by Dacorum Health and Wellbeing Committee
• Council claim secrecy about future of our health services is in 'public interest'
• This is just some of the vital information the NHS and Council are keeping from us:
• Costs of Market Square Hub v costs of developing current site
• Independent report on local services Hospital that rated the Market Square the WORST site
• Where 440 more cars will park if the Hub is built on the Market Square
• These are the papers for the 3 November meeting (see page 4):
• https://democracy.dacorum.gov.uk/documents/g4190/Public%20reports%20pack%2003rd-Nov-2025%2019.30%20Health%20and%20Wellbeing%20Committee.pdf?T=10

by philip

Cemetery area more suitable than Market Square for hospital site

• The last independent rating of possible hospital sites in Dacorum ranked the Market Square site NINTH
• In a detailed expert analysis in 2018, the tiny site - now being heavily promoted by Dacorum Council for a Health Hub -  was BEATEN BY FOUR OPTIONS on the current Hemel Hospital site and four other possible sites, including ones:
• In the Maylands Avenue industrial area of Hemel
• Next to Hemel's Woodwells Cemetery
• Using the site of the former Dacorum Borough Council offices in the Marlowes
• The experts said that the Market Square rated a score of just 8 out of 16 on efficiency, economic benefit and other scores.
• The Market Square was even soundly beaten by the cemetery area option, which got 11 out of 16
• 

by philip

Mystery of missing Market Square evidence deepens

• Two crucial expert reports - showing that the Hemel Market Square is not a suitable site for developing a hospital - have gone missing from BOTH the NHS and Dacorum Council
• In 2018, independent experts rated a large number of possible sites for a local hospital for Dacorum. The Market Square was placed 8th out of 8 in that process
• In a stunning U-turn, the NHS and Council have been pushing for a Hub to be built on the Market Square to replace the current Hemel Hospital - claiming it is their 'preferred way forward'
• The NHS have already said that 'Following reasonable searches, we can confirm that  [it] does not hold' the 2018 reports
• Now Dacorum Borough Council says that it does not have the 2018 reports either.
• What could have happened to them?

by philip

MPs and councillors discuss Hospital closure - behind closed doors

• On Friday local MPs and councillors will privately meet officials to hear more about the closure of Hemel Hospital
• There has been no announcement of the meeting, its agenda or the invitees
• Will private sector representatives from the Dacorum Investment Partnership be at the meeting, for instance?
• David Taylor MP (Hemel) and Victoria Collins MP (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) have been invited, we understand
• Neither MP turned up at public meetings about the plans to replace the Hospital with a Hub
• But at least Victoria Collins has asked DHAG to suggest issues to raise in Friday's meeting
• We hope she will ask about possible private finance and the poor rating given to the Market Square site in the past 
• We also hope there will be ANSWERS that the MPs and councillors will share with those who elected them

by philip

Will private developers be involved in the Hub?

• Dacorum Health Action Group is calling for transparency on any involvement of private sector developers in the building of the Market Square Health Hub
• A Freedom of Information bid seeks information from Dacorum Council about contacts between the Council and private companies about the Square
• One possibility is that the new Dacorum Investment Partnership (DIP), which involves the Council and housebuilders The Hill Group, could invest in the project
• DIP is 'aimed at increasing the number of affordable homes and delivering major regeneration projects across the borough.' It is 'an equal investment and decision-making collaboration' between the Council and Hill. 
• Companies House information reveals that Hill Investment Partnerships and the Council are 'persons with significant control' in DIP, with each having 'More than 25% but not more than 50%' of voting rights and ' More than 25% but not more than 50%' of rights to 'surplus assets'. 
• In August 2024, the Council said that it was exploring 'whether other development, such as new housing, retail and café uses could be possible as well' on the Market Square
• Here is more about the Dacorum Investment Partnership:
• https://www.dacorum.gov.uk/home/all-news/2025/08/11/investment-partnership-to-deliver-affordable-new-homes-and-regeneration

by philip