Application for 104 residential units on brownfield site known as the Turnford Surfacing Area submitted to planning

 The awaited application for the development on the former Turnford Surfacing Area near Rye House |Station (mentioned in the draft Local Plan) has now been submitted to Broxbourne Council for approval.  The application is for two blocks of flats containing 29 one-bed and 62 two-bed units and 13 three-bed town houses, plus a community/commercial space at the base of one of the flats which may take the form of a cafe.  78 units are to be sold privately, 17 of these units are to be social housing, 9 are "intermediate".

 

The site for development lies between the New River and the River Lea, in sight of the Rye House Gatehouse, on a hard standing area next to the railway line most recently used as a lorry park by Wren Kitchens.  As the development lies immediately next to the River Lea and will lead on to it, it will need to be particularly sensitive to the environment - both during construction and as a fundamental part of the design.  

 

The buildings themselves are relatively low rise (up to five storeys) and neutral, with most car parking underneath the flats, to be veiled from the river with climbers and green screening.  The intention is for there to be no physical fence between the towpath and the site, with a green "meadow" area and neutral coloured surfacing to footpaths.  Native trees and wildlife friendly shrubs are to be planted arounds the site, and sensitive lighting/periods of darkness for bats. 

 

There will also be improvement works to the towpath.  The original development brief from the Council was for this development to offer 20 car parking spaces for station users, but this has been amended to 5 disabled spaces and a covered cycle parking area with 63 spaces for station users.

 

Works are due to start soon to widen the bridge over the New River, but the bridge over the railway will not be widened and will remain a pinchpoint for traffic.  However, there will be changes to the junction and the introduction of a traffic light system, which should make it safer for pedestrians than it currently is. 

 

We are looking closely at all of the documents and when we respond will highlight the key environmental and aesthetic concerns that we believe the Council will need to keep tight control of. 

 

Overall, however, whilst development on the edge of the river needs to be closely controlled and limited, we feel that this proposal is a positive one which will transform a neglected part of Hoddesdon for the better.   We would welcome your views.

 

Comments can be made to the Council in the usual way (use Ref no 07/20/0467/F).  The consultation date ends on 17 July 2020.

This document provides a good overview of the development and how it will look.  Links to PDFs of the key planning documents can be found below:

 

18 June 2020

Plans for Rye House development released