The proposals

Our proposals for the site will deliver a number of significant benefits for the local area, including much-needed, 100% affordable housing, as well as high-quality community infrastructure.

Our plans include:

  • 183 much-needed, 100% affordable homes, ranging from 1-5 beds – 44 social rented, 110 discounted market sale and 29 shared ownership

  • Up to 579 sqm of flexible workspace – equivalent to 2 ¼ tennis courts

  • Up to 410 sqm of flexible community space – equivalent to 1 ½ tennis courts

  • A new, modern café with outside seating, which will serve as a community hub for residents and visitors

  • Approximately 30 acres of landscaped public open space

  • A number of new pedestrian and cycle routes and paths to create a development that is well-connected and easy to navigate

  • Vehicle and bicycle parking will also be provided in compliance with local planning policy.

Delivering affordable housing

There is a recognised and demonstrable unmet need for housing in St Albans.

The Council is currently below its housing delivery targets, scoring only 52% in its 2023 Housing Delivery Test, and its housing requirement has approximately doubled from 885 dwellings per year to 1,660.

The Government recently updated the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to encourage house building and expects 50% of housing on Grey Belt land to be affordable homes.

100% of the housing proposed as part of our plans will be affordable. The plans will provide:

  • 44 social rented,

  • 110 discounted market sale and

  • 29 shared ownership units.

The development would utilise Grey Belt land - as defined in National Policy - and would not fundamentally undermine the purposes of the remaining Green Belt (to stop urban sprawl, merging of settlements or the preservation of the character or setting of an historic town) across the area covered by the Council’s Local Plan.

Design

It’s important that we deliver an attractive and sympathetically designed development, which fosters a sense of community, place and pride. As such, all buildings will be built with high-quality materials and designed to be in-keeping with the context of the local area.

The proposals have been guided by a firm set of design principles, which seek to:

  • Create inclusive and vibrant neighbourhoods to generate a sense of community and pride

  • Reinforce a sense of local identity through design that responds to local context, as well as the use of local materials

  • Create a sense of ownership and relevance by involving local people and stakeholders in the design and construction process and to encourage future investment

  • Create a self-sustaining community through a mix of uses, including new homes, workspaces and areas to relax and enjoy, reducing vehicle reliance

  • Promote and enable sustainable transport options, with a strong focus on walking and cycling

  • Integrate passive design measures to reduce residual energy requirements and implement renewable energy technologies to create energy-efficient homes and workspaces

  • Integrate well-designed, inclusive public spaces, which will accommodate a variety of activities that encourage interaction, as well as a sense of pride and community

  • Promote the inclusion of green spaces everywhere, from private gardens and window boxes to parkland and wildflower meadows. This will deliver significant Biodiversity Net Gain.

Highways and access

A thorough Transport Assessment has been undertaken as part of the planning application for the site and is available to view on the Council’s website.

The proposals include improvements to local infrastructure, including off-site highway works on Radlett Road to support active travel and improve the connectivity of the site by sustainable modes of transport. This will include informal crossing improvements, additional bus stop facilities, new cycle routes and the provision of bicycle storage.

The proposed site is only a 5-minute walk from a bus stop on Radlett Road, which provides an hourly service to Radlett Train Station (5 minute bus journey), Park Street Railway Station (7 minute journey) and St Albans (25 minute journey).

Sustainability and biodiversity

Our proposals include a number of biodiversity enhancements, which we hope will help us to achieve a Biodiversity Net Gain of 98%. These include:

  • Tree and shrub planting

  • Establishing new habitats for birds, animals and insects

  • Native woodland

  • A strong focus on rewilding.

A number of energy and water saving measures will be incorporated at detailed design stage, including:

  • Heat recovery

  • Rainwater harvesting

  • EPC ratings of "A"

  • 100% van and car EV charging points

  • Roofscape Solar PVs

  • Low water WCs

  • Smart metering

  • Water butts.

Flooding and Drainage

Flood risk across the site is of the utmost importance to us, and a thorough Flood Risk Assessment and Drainage Strategy has been submitted alongside the planning application to address this.

This report confirms that while there is flood risk from fluvial and surface water sources within the site, this is limited to the south and west of the site (Flood Zone 3), where there are lower levels and closer proximity to the nearby rivers. The site’s layout has therefore been designed so that all built development, including the site access, is positioned outside of these areas, with finished floor levels significantly above any predicted flood levels (Flood Zone 1 and Flood Zone 2).

The planning application submission also sets out the proposed outline drainage strategy for the site. This will be to restrict the surface water discharge from the site to the greenfield runoff rate. Water will be attenuated in basins and underground storage tanks, with the rate of discharge restricted using a series of flow control chambers to ensure all storage is utilised. Runoff from gardens will be collected by filter drains, combined with permeable paving and swales used to further treat and attenuate flows prior to discharge.

The detailed Drainage Strategy and Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) components will form part of the detailed drainage design alongside a reserved matters application in due course. 

Flood Zone 1– Residential. This area is at the lowest risk of flooding.

Flood Zone 2 - Non-residential and ancillary spaces.

Flood Zone 3 – To be designated public open space - Ecological improvement (BNG) area with biodiversity enhancements, new habitats, rewilding and pedestrian access.