Summary of the Development
Plans to redevelop Hatfield Town Centre have now been approved.
The developer, St Modwen Developments Ltd, in co-ordination with Welwyn Hatfield Council and English Partnerships, the national regeneration agency, are working to deliver the regeneration of Hatfield Town Centre.
Planning permission for the development scheme was approved in January 2006 and the Development Agreement was also signed in January 2006. The council is currently seeking to acquire the land required to enable the redevelopment to proceed through the use of a Compulsory Purchase Order. and submitted a CPO application to central government in July 2006, which is now subject to a public inquiry. A ‘Stopping Up’ application was also submitted in March 2007.
The redevelopment of the eastern end of Hatfield Town Centre will provide a new town square with modern shopping facilities and restaurants and bars, an indoor market hall, improved transport infrastructure and 275 new homes, including both affordable and key worker housing.
The Bill Salmon Centre (BSC) will be incorporated into the town centre redevelopment to enhance the viability of the scheme. BSC is managed by Community Services to provide accommodation for the voluntary sector. As part of the enabling works for the redevelopment of Hatfield Town Centre, the Bill Salmon Centre will be demolished and replaced by a mixed-use development incorporating five retail units on the ground floor, with fifteen flats above. Existing tenants will be relocated within the town centre.
In addition to this, the old Forum Theatre site situated to the north of Hatfield Swim Centre is also being developed to provide 74 affordable housing and ten key worker housing units plus a new public car park to replace existing spaces that will be lost as part of the redevelopment. This development is being delivered by the Metropolitan Housing Trust and work started on site in April 2007.
It is also proposed that the post office sorting centre will relocate to a new site on Beaconsfield Road and work is currently underway on a planning application for this site, which we expect to be submitted in autumn 2007.
Follow the link here to view the approved submission, drawings and artists impressions for further details.