Supporting Sustainable Development with The Crown Estate and TOWN

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For the past five years we have been supporting The Crown Estate in its work at Hemel Hempstead, where they are a key partner in the transformation of the New Town and delivery of Hemel Garden Communities. This work has now taken an important next step, through a partnership with TOWN, for their site at Westwick Row where they are exploring innovative community-led engagement methods and alternative housing models. These include collaborative housing, intergenerational living as well as demonstrating best practice in sustainable development. David Lock Associates has been appointed to lead the planning for the development, and our Planning Performance Agreement with Dacorum Borough Council has led to a swift and positive collaboration with the local planning authority.

Westwick Row forms part of The Crown Estate’s housing demonstration project, which seeks to deliver inclusive, high quality and sustainable homes through exemplar developments, and provide valuable insights into sustainable construction and design. The scheme will deliver up to 80 homes, available for rent and purchase, with an allocation for affordable housing, inclusively designed to meet the needs of a diverse and multi-generational community.

We will be working closely with the Westwick Row team, stakeholders and the local authority to guide pre-application discussions and prepare the planning application ready for submission in Autumn 2025. We are proud to be continuing our relationship with The Crown Estate, bringing our local expertise and insights from our work on the Hemel Garden Communities programme, to support the delivery of this sustainable and community driven neighbourhood.