News Updates

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.'

by philip

What will the Water Gardens area housing look like?

• What will the affordable housing being planned for the Hemel Water Gardens car parks look like?
• Housebuilders Hill Group are jointly making key decisions with Dacorum Council on the future shape of parts of the Borough.
• It's called DIP - the Dacorum Investment Partnership
• So it is worth looking at what Hill might be considering for the Water Gardens area
• Hill built the large Gade apartment blocks in the Marlowes - top
• But they also build smaller houses, like these illustrated, in Cambridgeshire 
• The Hill Group website is here.

https://www.hill.co.uk/

by 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