Planning permission secured for community garden in Hemel Hempstead on behalf of The Crown Estate

Image: courtesy of David Lock Associates

David Lock Associates has secured planning permission for the Cherry Tree Lane Community Garden in Hemel Hempstead, on behalf of The Crown Estate (TCE). St Albans City & District Council approved the community garden which forms a part of the Hemel Garden Communities programme. The project will be run in partnership with the Sunnyside Rural Trust, a charity and social enterprise local to the area, which offers training and work experience for vulnerable people.

The planning firm, David Lock Associates states:

'The community garden illustrates TCE’s approach and commitment to early investment in ‘transformation projects,’ and multiple community engagement events were run for local residents to gather feedback on the proposals and raise awareness of the potential benefits the project would create for the community and wildlife.

'Prepared in collaboration with Gillespies and Temple Ecology, the project will repurpose an arable field on the edge of the urban area to deliver an accessible and inclusive amenity space which provides opportunities for local residents to experience and get involved in nature, landscaping and gardening activities.

'The community garden offers a safe and inclusive access to part of TCE’s landholding, and will provide a ‘place for pause’ in the local area. In addition, the garden will create species rich meadows, planting of new cherry trees and an accessible planting area, which will achieve an impressive 167% biodiversity net gain from its existing use. Visit the TCE website For more information and to check the sites progress.

In further news, Gedling Borough Council recently approved and adopted a Design Code Framework, prepared by David Lock Associates in collaboration with Proctor & Matthews Architects and Participatr.

David Lock Associates says:

'Central to the framework is a Core Design Code Document, which sets out the overarching vision, key themes, and coding plan linked to settlement-wide visions and placemaking strategies. Additionally three Design Code Documents outline design requirements that are specifically tailored to different scales of development and their potential users, and a supporting Observation Library utilises information gathered through a baseline assessment and extensive engagement with stakeholders including officers and developers, the wider community, and via Participatr’s “Place Gedling” platform.

'Gedling Borough forms part of the wider Greater Nottingham area, and is characterised by a variety of built environments, from hillside and ridgetop suburbs in urban areas, to traditional settlements and former colliery communities in valleys north of the River Trent. A series of case studies on the tapestry of settlements, with a focus on the most historic and culturally distinctive, were produced to inform the Code and its requirements, with illustrative contemporary examples given to demonstrate how residential developments can be designed to respond to the unique and distinctive features of the landscape and a true sense of place can be achieved.

'The Design Code Framework, which formed part of the National Design Code Pathfinder project, sought to create an exemplar that can be followed by other authorities when preparing Design Codes to create places that are not only well-designed but locally distinctive. Members approving the Design Code Framework noted how easy it is to follow, and appreciated the approach taken to prepare the framework as a series of accessible documents. David Lock Associates Partner, Stephen Haines said ‘working on this with the Pathfinder Project, has been a rewarding opportunity to show how Design Codes can balance practicality with inspiration. By focusing on local character and community input, we’ve created a framework that’s clear, usable, and deeply rooted in Gedling’s identity.’