Hatfield Town Centre redevelopment is going ahead

Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council would like to reassure residents and businesses of Hatfield that the redevelopment of the town centre has not been “shelved” or “put on ice”.

There is continued and total commitment by all the partners to the Hatfield Town Centre Scheme.  Meetings between Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, St Modwen and English Partnerships are ongoing to establish how best to deliver the scheme in the current uncertain economic conditions.

These conditions have impacted on the flow of retailers into the planned units. This effect  is being experienced by developments across the UK and is not exclusive to this particular project. Retailers are currently reluctant to commit to opening new or additional stores.

However, St Modwen is continuing to pursue retailers to occupy retail lets and has signed up Wilkinson, a major retailer for the centre. Until these negotiations turn into firm commitments to sign up to the scheme, it is unlikely that work will commence during 2008 and we hope to be able to commence construction during 2009.

In addition, it is important to stress that St Modwen is completely committed to this important project in legal terms, through the Development Agreement with the Council and English Partnerships. Significant investment has also been made to date in terms of the cost to obtain the necessary planning consents, and the acquisition of various sites in the town centre.

The site assembly process is significantly advanced, with 80 per cent of the site already in the ownership of the Partnership (the Council, English Partnerships and St Modwen). This equates to a total investment of over £8.5 million.

Negotiations with land owners within the redevelopment area of Hatfield Town Centre East continue and have not stopped. St Modwen is actively progressing site assembly discussions to enable the regeneration scheme to proceed.