Plans approved for 350 homes at former golf club

An artist's impression of some of the new homes, which a developer says will help tackle a borough's housing crisis

Plans to build 350 homes on a former golf club have been approved - with 245 of them described as affordable.

Hertsmere Borough Council's planning committee signed off the scheme at the former Bushey Hall Golf Club, which closed in 2019, at a meeting on Thursday.

James Craig, director at developer Griggs Homes, said this was "the single largest affordable housing delivery in Hertsmere's history".

Four years ago, the golf club's owners submitted plans to build a new stadium for Watford Football Club on the land.

A map showing how there will be two access points to the site - from Bushey Hall Drive and Bushey Mill Lane

The application for the 350 homes was first considered in June, when a row erupted between councillors and officers after the committee voted against granting permission.

A final decision was deferred until the meeting on Thursday, when the scheme was narrowly approved by five votes to four, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A key point of friction was whether the land in Bushey, near Watford, should be classed as grey belt or green belt.

Planning officers argued it did not strongly contribute to the green belt's purposes, which include preventing neighbouring towns merging.

Brett Rosehill, a Conservative councillor who represents the Aldenham East ward, had proposed rejecting the application on the grounds that it should be classed as green belt.

He described it as "the last line of defence against a merging between Bushey and Watford", adding "the harms of the development would outweigh its benefits".

Louise Nicolas, a Liberal Democrat councillor who represents Bushey North, described a proposed new medical centre as a "pipedream"

The 245 affordable homes will include 91 homes available for social rent at around 50% of market value, including 20 four-bedroom homes and 35 three-bedroom homes.

Thirty-one properties will be available at affordable rent – 80% of market value – and 123 properties for shared ownership.

Linda Smith, a Labour councillor who represents the Borehamwood Cowley Hill ward, said she was "blown away" by the "phenomenal" amount of affordable housing proposed.

Natalie Susman, a Conservative councillor who represents Shenley, noted the "dire shortage" of larger affordable and social rent homes in Hertsmere.

An average of just 52 affordable homes have been built per year over the last decade in the area.

Mr Craig said the site offered "a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform North Bushey and deliver benefits on a scale never seen before in Hertsmere".

He added the scheme was a "sustainable, landscape-led development and delivers a package of benefits unmatched" in the area with contributions made towards local infrastructure totalling more than £20m.

The application was for outline permission with full details – such as parking – to be confirmed in further applications.