Planning context and introduction
The Draft Local Plan sets the Council’s vision for Hertsmere to 2038, which includes the requirement for approximately 12,000 new homes across the Borough Council area, alongside jobs, infrastructure and services. The identification of Bowmans Cross forms an important part of a strategy focused on sustainable growth for the local area and it is proposed the development would deliver no more than 6,000 homes.
The area of Bowmans Cross is currently designated Green Belt and is home to a range of activities including quarrying, waste to energy production, offices, farming and equestrian businesses.
To help us develop plans for Bowmans Cross, this website shares the latest thinking about the development. You will find a number of questions at the end of each section, beginning with ‘a nature-led development.’ You can submit your feedback in each section before moving on to the next.
The plan shows the perimeter of the land allocated in the Draft Local Plan – within the red line. About a third of this area will not be developed, a third will be homes, shops and business space, and a third will be green space, parks and woodlands. The area marked in yellow shows where new homes, facilities and businesses, and new open spaces will be created.
Green Belt development
The site of Bowmans Cross is currently designated as Green Belt and parts of the site form a diverse ecological habitat, while other parts have seen industrial activity, like quarrying, on large parts of the land.
Green Belt is a national policy designed to provide important green space and separation between communities and, in the case of parts of Hertfordshire, the outward spread of Greater London. Approximately 80% of Hertsmere is designated as Green Belt. The boundaries were defined 40 years ago and have remained largely unchanged since then.
The extent of the Green Belt in Hertsmere means that the Council has some hard choices to make to meet the required housing needs of the local area.
The development of a new settlement is considered essential to support the Council’s spatial strategy for growth and to help meet its objectively assessed housing needs both now and in the future.
Who is Urban&Civic?
Urban&Civic is the masterdeveloper leading the design, development and delivery of the proposed new community at Bowmans Cross.
With a long tradition of brownfield development and regeneration, Urban&Civic is committed to designing, delivering and supporting the long-term maintenance of sustainable communities, always listening to and engaged with local communities.
We are at an early stage in the development process for Bowmans Cross and are working with the Tyttenhanger Estate and local partners to define the right approach to development here. This exhibition and the team here today are the first stage of listening to our neighbours, to ensure any plans coming forward work with local aspirations, address your concerns, and bring forward a place we can all be proud of and enjoy.
For more information about us, visit: www.urbanandcivic.com
Why Bowmans Cross?
The area of Bowmans Cross that would need to be removed from the Green Belt represents 4% of the overall Green Belt in Hertsmere. The proposals ensure a new Green Belt boundary would be established to protect and maintain a clear distinction between communities.
Alongside this, the overall design of the new development will be landscape and nature-led, to ensure that the natural assets of the area are protected and enhanced within and around the new development.
Critically, the vision also ensures that green space is opened up for local communities to enjoy: ensuring cycling, walking and equestrian routes are increased through enhancing existing Rights of Way.
Hertsmere Local Plan 2022 - 2038