News

Hospital site could be part of near-1000-home estate as Government housing targets bite

  • Nearly 1000 new homes could be built on the Hemel Hospital site and in the next-door Paradise area 
  • Government housing targets are encouraging more residential development in Dacorum
  • In October 2024, the Council said in Cabinet papers that it  would aim for 15,332 new homes in the Borough by 2041.
  • And earlier this year Dacorum Investment Partnership (DIP) claimed the Borough required 'over 17,270 new homes' by 2041.
  • DIP is a decision-sharing collaboration between housebuilders Hill Group and Dacorum Council
  • Recently the local NHS proposed that a total of 639 homes should be built on the Hospital site - 189 more than previous plans
  • That would mean complete demolition of the Hospital
  • Some or all of the services remaining at the Hospital would be moved to two floors or so in a Market Square health centre
  • The Paradise area, which adjoins the Hospital site, is separately planned to have over 300 new homes by 2041. 
  • The Dacorum Local Plan says that 'Tall buildings of up to 8 storeys' could be acceptable in Paradise if 'they have been identified
    within the Paradise Design Code'
  • The two developments together could create a new estate of nearly 1000 homes. 
  • Below is the DIP document which refers to the higher housing target (see page 4)
  • dacorum-investment-plan-2026

by philip

Berko, Tring and Villages to lose out in Hospital closure

  • The Market Square Health health centre Hub is only intended to serve the town of Hemel
  • NHS bosses and Dacorum councillors plan the Hub as a 'replacement' for the Hospital they want to close
  • Dacorum Council's Local Plan says the Hub will provide 'hospital and other specialist facilities that serve the wider needs of the town [Hemel]'
  • The hospital needs of the rest of the Borough, including Berkhamsted, Tring and Dacorum villages are not mentioned.
  • And the Council's Plan also allows for the continued rundown by  NHS bosses of hospital services at Hemel
  • It says: 'When delivered, [the Market Square Hub]  will likely replace much of the remaining facilities on the existing hospital site'
  • The key word there is 'remaining'
  • This means that services LEFT OVER at the Hospital at the time when the Hub is completed - possibly the early 2030s - would be transferred to the Hub
  • Over the years there have been regular decreases in the scope of services available at Hemel Hospital. 
  • So there is no guarantee that the range of services NOW available at the Hospital will move across to the Hub

The recent Local Plan is here (search for 'hospital'):

6c51ee038c5a2ec1d736d333886c12a3_Dacorum_Local_Plan_to_2041

 

 

 

by philip

Civic Centre site to see 180 new homes as Hospital closure plans take shape

  • 180 flats/houses are to be built on the former Civic Centre site by April 2031
  • This is part of plans by Housebuilders Hill Group and Dacorum Council for at least 1500 new town centre homes 
  • Hill Group and the Council are collaborating in the Dacorum Investment Partnership (DIP)
  • The NHS is now pushing for 639 flats/houses on the site of the Hospital after it is closed and demolished
  • The Hospital's services will be moved to two floors of a planned new 'neighbourhood health centre' Hub on Market Square
  • Community health services will be housed on one floor of the health centre, which received the backing of regional NHS bosses recently
  • The Water Gardens car parks are to be the site of affordable housing and other development
  • DIP has been asked to come up with plans for the hundreds of extra car spaces that will be needed for the Hub
  • These are almost certain to be on extra layers of the Water Gardens North Car Park. 
  • The plans of DIP are set out in this Investment Plan (see especially pages 14-17 and page 22)
  • dacorum-investment-plan-2026

by philip

Developers confirm Water Gardens car parks a housing 'priority'

  • Housebuilders Hill Group and Dacorum Council have announced the first steps towards 17,270 more flats and houses for Dacorum
  • Hill Group and the Council are collaborating in the Dacorum Investment Partnership (DIP) which aims to help meet Government housing targets and regenerate towns
  • DIP has decided that the Water Gardens car parks are a 'priority' for housing and mixed-use development
  • The partnership is also working up plans for more car parking to accommodate the demands of the Market Square neighbourhood health centre Hub - in the same area
  • DIP has released a timetable for its first 18 months, with 'due diligence' testing on the Water Gardens car parks scheme this autumn
  • The plan is for faster progress on homes for the site of the Civic Centre in Marlowes and Cherry Bounce overlooking the Old Town.
  • Housing on the Cherry Bounce site should be complete by November 2029, and on the Civic Centre site by April 2031.
  • The timetable is on page 22 of DIP's 2026 Investment Plan:

dacorum-investment-plan-2026

 

by philip

The Hub will be TOO SMALL to serve our Borough

  • The Hemel Hub will be too small to serve the whole Borough of Dacorum
  • Health bosses now admit it will only be a Neighbourhood Health Centre (NHC)
  • The Hub will probably be the biggest type of NHC, a Core++. 
  • New NHS documents confirm that Core++ NHCs will serve 100,000 people 
  • Problem is ... the population of Dacorum is ALREADY over 165,000
  • A big rise is expected in the number of people over 65 and living with frailty
  • So demand will grow - but the Market Square Hub will not have the  flexibility and space to meet the demand.
  • Councillors need to explain why they are using Dacorum residents' council tax to help build a facility that will be inadequate for many of us on the day it opens
  • This is the link to the new NHS guidance on NHCs - 
  • https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/neighbourhood-health-centres-design-and-performance-specification/
  • Here are extracts from the NHS guidance relating to the various types of NHC:
  • Guidance Extracts April 2026

by philip

Uncertainty over Hemel's last Hospital beds drags on

  • The future of Hemel Hospital's final beds is clouded by uncertainty
  • A review of the services of the 20-bed St Peter's rehabilitation ward should have been finished by December 2025
  • The ward is run by Central London Community Healthcare Trust
  • The ward has an important role in helping patients 'patients to manage their own health conditions and look after themselves.'
  • Now DHAG has learned via an FOI bid that the review won't be made public until the summer or autumn of this year
  • NHS bosses give mixed messages about whether the ward could transfer to the Market Square 'neighbourhood health centre' Hub
  • The Trust list of services planned for inclusion in the Hub refers to an 'Inpatient rehabilitation ward'
  • But the only floor plan made public makes no mention of the ward

by philip

Options for future of Hemel Hospital - survey

  • A new survey by Dacorum Health Action Group asks the public whether they want a Market Square Health Campus - or development of the Hemel Hospital site
  • Dacorum Council and the NHS have agreed that two options will be included in the new Local Plan - a key document on the future of the area
  • This is the link to the survey:
  • https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SXW53MF
  • The issues are covered in two documents sent to Local Plan inspectors in February 2026.
  • The Hearing Statement by the NHS is number 960 if you follow the link below:
  • https://letstalk.dacorum.gov.uk/hearing-statements
  • The Statement of Common Ground between the NHS and Dacorum Council is number DBC/ED46 if you follow the link below:
  • https://letstalk.dacorum.gov.uk/examination-documents

 

by philip

Public opposes Market Square Hub – survey

An opinion survey shows the depth of public opposition to the Market Square Hub

Below are quotes from a Council summary of an opinion survey on the plans, carried out on behalf of the Council and Trust in 2025:

  • A general feeling that services have been deliberately run down in Hemel to justify centralising in Watford.
  • A number of respondents said the town deserves a fully functioning hospital with A&E and maternity services, not just a health campus.
  • Watford General is widely described as difficult to access, overcrowded, poorly managed, and too far, especially for emergencies.
  • Many want investment in the current Hemel Hospital site rather than building a new facility 
  • People see the proposed campus as a “downgrade” or a “smaller alternative.”
  • The existing site is seen as larger, better located, with more space and parking.
  • The Market Square location raises concerns about congestion, limited space, and insufficient parking.
  • Strong concern that with new housing developments, the proposed campus will be inadequate.
  • Residents feel a larger-scale hospital solution is needed to meet demand.
  • The survey also asked people whether they agreed with ‘The re-location of existing services currently provided at Hemel Hospital site, to a new Health
    Campus in the town centre.’
  • 41% agreed or strongly agreed, with 42% disagreeing or strongly disagreeing. 
  • There was no question which mentioned the authorities’ preferred option of the Market Square Hub
  • The survey had 793 respondents. The full analysis is below:
  • dad111d946de3fc5aee1c6b902dd881d_Public survey analysis_summary

 

by philip

Will Community services be shrunk to fit the Hub?

  • There is uncertainty over the future of community health services in Hemel, with the fate of the Marlowes Health and Wellbeing (HWB) Centre in doubt
  • The HWB Centre is a substantial four-storey building
  • It offers a wide variety of community health services for adults and children
  • They range from audiology to a leg ulcer clinic, podiatry to dentistry
  • The idea is that the Market Square Hub will bring together many services
  • But Hub plans have only ONE FLOOR dedicated to community services
  • If the HWB is closed, that could mean a big reduction in space for those services
  • Can the NHS want to shrink everything in the HWB onto a single storey?
  • How many community services will fit onto the Hub's single floor?
  • The evidence, yet again, is that the Hub is, simply,
  • MUCH TOO SMALL FOR OUR NEEDS 
  •  Below are: the current HWB and, below that, the current floor plan of the Hub, with on Level Three, the only space for community services.

by philip

PR push on Water Gardens car parks development. But will we have proper consultation as well?

  • The PR push to promote schemes for housebuilding via the Dacorum Investment Partnership (DIP) is under way
  • But will we have proper public consultation on the strategy for housing as well as the spin?
  • Housing and other development is planned on the Water Gardens car parks - one of three initial DIP 'priority' sites. It should include extra parking for the Health Hub
  • PR firm Puttock Brown aims to publish a 'stakeholder newsletter' and mount 'digital campaigns', to sell the theme of 'Investing in Dacorum's Future'
  • DIP says it will 'Promote meaningful community engagement, supporting consultation and collaboration throughout the development process'
  • Puttock Brown is being paid by DIP, which is a joint venture between Dacorum Council and housebuilders Hill Group
  • The PR plans are on page 23 of the DIP Investment Plan:

https://www.dacorum.gov.uk/docs/default-source/regeneration/dacorum-investment-plan-2026.pdf?sfvrsn=f24109e_3

  • Below, from the Investment Plan, is an image showing DIP's three 'priority' sites for affordable housing - Cherry Bounce in blue, Civic Centre site in yellow, and Water Gardens in red, Also the page on the Water Gardens car parks developments

 

 

 

 

 

by philip