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 sustainable green neighbourhood, with up to 700 new homes that can cater for people at every stage of life. This includes first time buyers, young families, with 50% affordable housing that Clarion would manage directly at a time when, both locally and nationally, these are desperately needed. It also includes up to 70 specialist bedspaces for older people so that they can continue to live independently in the community they love.

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 space for a new primary school, a community hub – which could include a health and wellbeing offer – as well as a walkable convenience offer for existing and future residents where currently there is little.

We have submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Scoping Report to the Council. This is a very normal part of any pre-planning process and is used to agree the scope and methodology for the future Environmental Statement we produce. We want to be very clear that this Scoping Report is not a planning application and there will be plenty of opportunities to meet with us and discuss the designs as they develop over the rest of this year.

We think this site is an ideal location for new homes as part of a carefully designed masterplan and the EIA Scoping Report we submitted to the Council in August 2024 identified that it could support a maximum of up to 700 new residential homes.

Sitting just to the north of Farm Way, this site would be a sustainable extension to the existing Bushey Community and protect and unlock a significant amount of green space for the borough, whilst delivering the affordable homes that are so desperately needed locally. It would also offer the opportunity to provide new facilities and services in an ideal location for both new and existing residents.

We are very mindful that there are neighbours near to this site and we are working with our masterplan and landscape architects to ensure the development is sensitively designed to minimise impact. We intend to introduce new trees and planting, to create natural green buffers around the site, to help minimise any visual impact to existing homes on Farm Way and Bournehall Avenue.

We have also carefully considered how vehicles will travel to and from the site We are proposing that the main accesses are off Little Bushey Lane, with two new priority T-junctions. The vehicle access we are proposing from Farm Way will only serve a very small number of properties (around 25-30) and will only be used by the residents living there. There will be no connecting road or ‘rat-run’ through from Farm Way onto Little Bushey Lane, meaning cars are kept off quieter neighbouring roads.

We are still in the early stages of the planning process and have instructed a Transport Consultant who, in liaison with Hertfordshire County Council (the Local Highways Authority) and Hertsmere Borough Council, will assess the suitability of the local road infrastructure to accommodate additional cars, pedestrians and cyclists.

A key part of our proposal is to encourage more sustainable methods of travel and so we will be investing in local bus services and introducing new walking and cycling paths to help reduce the reliance on cars. We will also be making improvements to the existing Public Rights of Way to make them safer and more accessible, which should also help minimise the number of cars travelling to and from site.

Whilst we are still agreeing the level of parking with the Council, all of the parking will be provided on site, and we will be ensuring that the needs of both residents and visitors can be catered for to ensure we keep vehicles off surrounding roads.

Yes, 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 the site is private land that offers little to the local area. While it has two Public Rights of Way within its boundary, these are difficult to navigate for those with limited mobility and can feel unsafe to use in bad weather or during the evening.

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 school, dedicated later living homes and new shops and 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 focusing 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.

There would also be significant improvements to the two Public Rights of Way to make them safer and more welcoming to travel through. Additionally we will create new routes to better connect Compass Park to the existing Active Travel Network, of walk and cycle paths in the area, helping to make it easier to travel sustainably around Bushey. As part of this, we would also invest in local bus services and create a new route that would travel directly into the site and stop at a potential new active travel hub. This could be used for bike hire, as well as EV charging and car club spaces, helping to reduce the reliance on cars and promote sustainable travel.

We believe Compass Park offers a rare opportunity to deliver an exemplar development for Hertsmere, transforming this site to offer a significant number of benefits for the borough in one place and opening it up for public use for the first time.

We will hold ourselves accountable to the highest design and sustainability standards. This includes:

• No energy from fossil fuel sources
• Incorporating sustainable planting, such as climate resilient trees to ensure long-term stability and smart planting to support natural drainage and protect against flooding
• Targeting at least a 10% biodiversity net gain on site
• Promoting sustainable transport with new connections to the Active Travel Network, investment in local bus services and the potential for a new active travel hub that could support cycle hire, electric car charging points and a car club offering
• Unlocking and protecting a significant amount of new green space for Bushey, with 50% of the site dedicated to public open space, including the 18-hectare Community Park
• Enhancing the Local Wildlife Site and creating new green corridors and habitat structures to attract wildlife
• Retaining all trees and planting new ones

We are in the process of assessing the need for infrastructure in the area including a health and wellbeing offer, shops, workspace, and a school.

At present, we are proposing the health and wellbeing offer to be located within the Community Centre, as well as providing land for a new primary school, and a retail offer to ensure the needs of the existing and new community will be met. We will continue to speak with the council and relevant stakeholders to understand local need as the proposals develop.