Compass Park is bounded by Little Bushey Lane to the north and east, Farm Way and Bournehall Avenue to the south and Finch Lane and Finch Lane allotments to the west. It is approximately 48.4 hectares in size and has been owned by the Masonic Charitable Foundation for more than 100 years. It currently has two Public Rights of Way within its boundary (PROWS).

We are proposing to create a new sustainable green neighbourhood, with up to 700 new homes that can cater for people at every stage of life. This includes first time buyers and families, with 50% affordable housing that Clarion would manage directly, at a time when both locally and nationally these are desperately needed.

50% of the site will be delivered as green space and delivered in Phase 1, which contains improvements to Bushey’s largest community park and a Local Wildlife Site as well as a new green link – unlocking this part of the green belt for public use for the first time.

To support and bring life to this neighbourhood and our local communities in Bushey, our vision is also to provide new much-needed facilities. This includes a new village green which will offer a small space for shops, a community centre, a health and wellbeing hub and flexible office space, all around a village green space that could host local markets and craft fairs.

To better connect Compass Park, we would invest in local roads, pavements and bus services and create new and improved walking and cycling routes. This would include improvements to the existing Public Rights of Way to make them easier and safer to navigate.

We are conscious that this site forms part of the Green Belt and have been thinking carefully about how we can prioritise green space and enhance nature through a landscape-led design and deliver a significant amount of benefit for Hertsmere.

At the moment this site is private land that offers little to the local area and we believe there is an opportunity to transform it into a place that would offer a significant amount for benefit for the borough. Our masterplan would deliver up to 700 new homes, including 50% affordable, at a time when they are desperately needed. We are proposing a mix of property types and sizes – from 1-bedroom apartments to 5-bedroom houses – which will also include homes that are accessible and adaptable, to meet a diverse range of needs.

To help support this growing community we are also proposing a range of new facilities and amenities, including land for a primary school, a care home, new shops and a community centre, which could include a health and wellbeing hub. These would offer a new walkable convenience for resident where currently there is little.

We have designed the masterplan to unlock a significant amount of new green space for the area and have focused a large proportion of the homes within the south of the site where they will sit as a natural sustainable extension to the existing built area in Bushey. This means that around 50% of the site would be public open space, which includes 18-hectares of historic parkland that would become Bushey’s largest Community Park, opening up, and enhancing this part of the Green Belt for public use for the first time. It would also include a Local Wildlife Site that would protect and enhance this part of the site and create a place where people can observe and enjoy local nature. Connecting these two spaces would be a green link that would offer activities for all ages including a new playground for young children and areas for outdoor games like table tennis or chess as well as a village green that could host community events such as local markets and craft fairs.

There would also be significant improvements to the two Public Rights of Way to make them safer and more welcoming to travel through as well as new walk and cycle routes through the site that would connect to the existing Active Travel Network. Investments would also be made in local bus services, roads and pavements – better connecting Bushey and making it easier to travel around.

We believe Compass Park offers a rare opportunity to deliver a significant number of benefits for the borough in one place – transforming this site into a new neighbourhood and opening up a significant amount of new green space for public use for the first time.

We are planning to submit a Hybrid Planning Application, which means that the masterplan would be split into detailed and outline applications. This is very normal for large applications and aligns with how we are proposing to phase the delivery of the homes and community facilities which we have already touched on.

Detailed phase

We estimate that if we get planning consent Phase 1 will take around 3.5 years to build. This first phase would unlock a significant amount of benefit for the area:

• Up to 190 new homes with 25% affordable
• Bushey’s largest Community Park
• Local Wildlife Site
• A new green link 
• Village Green
• Flexible commercial space

Outline phases

• Up to 510 homes delivering the remaining 75% affordable
• Up to 70 specialist bedspaces as part of a care home
• A new primary school
• Active Travel Hub
• Full network of new walking and cycling routes
• Additional flexible commercial spaces, to include the health and wellbeing hub and community centre

We’ve created a design code that will set the quality and design standards for what can be delivered here for both buildings and open spaces. This includes protecting key views through and into the site.

We have created a safeguarded area ‘free from development’ which sits at a minimum of 26m between the proposed new homes and the rear gardens of existing properties on Farm Way and Bournehall Avenue. We have used the natural topography of the land to sensitively place buildings in a way that would help to protect views through to open green spaces, with no building exceeding 3-storeys.

We understand that traffic is a key local issue and this is something that came up a lot during our consultation.

We have been undertaking detailed transport surveys to better understand the conditions and have begun thinking about some of the improvements we could invest in, including investment in local roads and pavements and public transport.  Access to Compass Park would also be managed carefully to prevent ‘rat runs’ and protect neighbouring residential areas.

Issues with the junction between Little Bushey Lane and Aldenham Road

We are exploring with Hertfordshire County Council the potential of introducing a new lane at the traffic lights on Little Bushey Lane for vehicles turning left on to Aldenham Road. This would help improve queuing along Little Bushey Lane improving the overall flow of traffic at the junction and on Little Bushey Lane.

Sandy Lane being too narrow and impacting traffic flow

Improvements to Sandy Lane would need to be led by the Hertfordshire County Council. We are currently in discussions with them and would seek to make a financial contribution to help unlock improvements here.

Capacity issues at Hartspring

There are already proposed improvements to this roundabout that would help mitigate existing issues. If these do not come forward, we would offer to invest in improvements here.

Capacity issues at Junction 5

There are already proposed improvements to this interchange that would help mitigate existing issues. If these do not come forward, we would explore investing in improvements here for the benefit of the wider area.

School pick-up and drop-off

We have purposefully designed the school to deter people from using their cars to travel there. This includes limiting the number of roads that connect to it and designing out places for people to drop off students. It has also been placed away from areas where people could park on neighbouring roads.

Active travel and connectivity

We are supporting active travel to increase the number of local journeys being walked, wheeled, or cycled. This includes a variety of footpath and cycle routes through Compass Park, as well as creating direct links to the existing residential neighbourhoods on Bournehall Avenue and Farm Way and the nearest secondary school, Queens’ School.

Parking

We will provide all homes with their own parking space, as well as plenty of on-street parking. This means that there would be space to accommodate all parking within the site and prevent any overspill onto surrounding rounds.

We understand the concerns the community have about the impact of new homes on local services.

We have heard how strongly local people feel about wanting to see more investment into local health services, including doctors and pharmacists. We’ve now ensured that our health and wellbeing hub could accommodate space for ‘satellite’ GP appointments and pharmacy. Whilst this is not a doctor’s surgery, it means residents would be able to book appointments here at set times throughout the week. This is something that would need to be managed by a specialist operator. 

In addition, we have developed our designs further and have now earmarked a larger retail space in the village square that could accommodate a local convenience store. We have also provided space for smaller shops, which could be used as a coffee shop, bakery or other small retailers. There would also be one larger space designed for a local grocery store that could provide household essentials and other convenience offers.

We want to create a place that encourages sustainable habits and lifestyles. That’s why we are proposing significant investment in local roads, public transport and walking and cycle paths to not only help minimise some of these issues but also help facilitate more sustainable methods of transport and reduce the reliance on cars. This includes:

• Local roads: Proposed investment into key junctions around the site. This is something that we are in close discussions with HBC and HCC about.
• Bus services: Investment in the existing 306 service to make this more frequent as well as a new bus to Bushey Village and Watford Junction that would run every half an hour and provide a new reliable connection to local stations and high streets.
• Walking and cycle paths: Improvements to the existing Public Rights of Way as well as new walking and cycle routes, as well as fitness trails, through the site that connect into the existing active travel network.

As part of our planning application, we will submit a Construction Environmental Management Plan that will set out how we would manage construction. This is something that would need to be reviewed and agreed with the council and include measures such as: 

• Monitoring machinery for dust, noise and vibration, ensuring we don’t exceed agreed levels.
• Working within set working hours of 8am-5pm Monday to Friday and 8am-1pm on Saturdays.
• Providing regular updates to local residents of progress on site and advanced notice of any significant works.

Our next step is to review this feedback and submit a Planning Application to Hertsmere Borough Council.

We plan to submit a Hybrid Planning application in Winter 2024/25 and expect this to be determined during 2025. In addition to this phase of consultation, there will be a further opportunity to provide feedback during the council’s statutory consultation period which we anticipate will take place in early 2025.

Providing planning consent is granted, we would hope to start construction on site in 2026.