Business information

Hertfordshire's key employment sites

The Hertfordshire Structure Plan Review identifies six key employment sites to play a major long-term role in the Hertfordshire economy.

The key sites require co-coordinated action from the County and District Councils, the landowners and others, to resolve access and infrastructure problems, to ensure satisfactory planning guidelines are in place and to market opportunities to investors, developers and employers. The County Council employs a Key Sites and Regeneration Manager to promote the development of the sites and to help resolve any physical, legal and financial constraints.

Hatfield Aerodrome (Welwyn Hatfield DC)
The largest of the key employment sites. Phase 1 of the development delivered Hatfield Business Park (mainly warehousing) and Phase 2, Bishop Square (offices). Construction of Phase 3 commenced in January 2001 and provides offices, warehousing and industrial floorspace, new housing, a new campus for the University of Hertfordshire, a mixed leisure and small scale retail centre. By the time the site is fully developed in 2010, over 7000 jobs will have been created on 191,000 sqm of employment land and 1700 new homes developed of which 30% will be affordable offering rented or shared ownership.

Park Plaza, Waltham Cross (Broxbourne BC)
A 26 ha site at the junction of the A10 and M25. The southern part has been developed with a Travelodge and new print works for News International, due for completion in October 2007. Further development on this (southern) part of the site will comprise an office building and polybag/batching plant. The northern part of the site has outline consent for B1 development.

Essex Road, Hoddesdon (Broxbourne BC)
Approximately 15 hectares of land within the North-East Hoddesdon Industrial Area. A new bridge over the Liverpool Street- Cambridge railway line, completed in December 2005, opened this land up for development and approximately 70% of the 850,000 sq ft of business and warehousing floorspace has been developed or is under construction. A draft planning brief for a second phase of the Essex Road development to the west of the railway was produced in October 2007.

Three Cherry Trees Lane/Spencers Park, Hemel Hempstead (Dacorum BC)
A 29.5 ha development site close to junction 8 of the M1, comprising a housing proposal and a Key Employment Site designated for Specialised Technological Activities. A development brief was adopted for the housing part of the site by Dacorum Borough Council in December 2006. That Council is considering whether to formally transfer the STA employment designation to the Maylands Gateway site through its emerging Local Development Framework.

Centennial Park, Elstree (Hertsmere BC)
A 27 ha site adjoining the A41 with a planning permission for 75,000 sqm of employment uses in five phases. Phases one to four are complete and largely occupied and phase 5 is still at the planning stage.

Leavesden Aerodrome (Three Rivers DC)
This 116 ha site was formerly a Rolls Royce helicopter engine factory and since 1994 has been successfully used as a film location for major movies such as Harry Potter. In 1999, planning consent was given for 38,500 sqm of office space, followed in 2003 by 120,000 sqm of B1 and film studios that in total could generate up to 7,000 jobs. To facilitate the development, a comprehensive package of infrastructure improvements has been agreed.

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