Planning permission is being sought to raise the existing two-story building to five stories, which will be out of character with the local area.
Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council – Planning enquiry (welhat.gov.uk)
Howlands House resides on a site that was once known for belonging to/being occupied by Dr Cotter. In 1983 WelHat council applied for planning permission to demolish the properties and erect what currently stands today.
For those who aren’t familiar with the site, it is accessed directly from Howlands and sits in between Moorlands (west), Sheepcote (north) and Moorend (south). There is a footpath to the south of the site, adjacent to a swale area and if you walk along this, oftentimes muddy, path then Howlands House can be seen quite clearly. The housing block is indeed in disrepair and urgently needs to be redeveloped. The composition of the units within the housing no longer meets the requirements for temporary housing so something does need to be done. But this needn’t mean that a tall tower block complex is the next natural move, certainly not for a conservation area.
The Beehive conservation area consists of houses which are no more than 2 storeys. All the houses are quiet, two storey, low-density homes. Every house is governed by the area rules which talk about compliance for all sorts of things – what you can modify on your home (windows, doors, garages), additional development (extensions, outbuildings, conservatories, dormers), features (fenestration types, window positioning), and finally trees, front gardens and hedges.
Every household has bought a house based on these rules. Many residents see these parameters as protections against unwieldy and ugly developments; the council certainly looks to enforce these rules when they’re made aware of a breach. So why are they now wishing to make an exception to these rules for Howlands House?
WelHat council want to demolish what currently stands and build blocks up to 5 storeys in height.
Their arguments for doing so and circumventing the Beehive Conservation Area rules seem to rest on assertions which are debatable at best.
One of their assertions is that the current Howlands House buildings offer no architectural value to the Beehive Conservation Area which, though true, seems to easily forget the architectural value of the property that resided there until 1983. It would seem it’s an easy way to overdevelop any site – demolish a good property with architectural merit, establish an eyesore, then apply to demolish that and build a tower block on it – citing that the area would be improved in doing so.
Another assertion relates to tree coverage being able to ‘screen’ the new building from view – however, it’s pretty clear that this is a sparse woody area rather than a wood itself. The area hardly conceals the existing two storey building and many of the trees will not survive the development and/or will have to be removed as part of the plans. Any new trees planted will take 30 years to develop in any way that goes towards shielding the building from view.
And the final assertion appears to relate to the location of the site itself. As you travel towards the QE2 hospital along Howlands, the road takes a dip. WelHat council seem to believe that, standing at the end of Sheepcote next to Howlands, this dip will obscure the 3-5 storey building from view – the three storey blocks will be hidden behind the small row of terraced houses at the end of Sheepcote and as the 4 and 5 storey blocks are sit further back, the angles will prevent the public from seeing the blocks from this position. However, they haven’t provided survey points from Moorend or Moorlands side of the site, where there is no dip to conceal any storeys and where the tallest of the blocks are.
This aggressive strategy for development has resulted in this small site being the focus of the temporary housing needs in WGC. This has a knock-on effect to the bus services, the schools (there’s one school nearby which will no doubt be the focus of the admissions for children who resides in Howlands House), the dentists, doctors, hospitals etc
The council seems intent on breaking its own regulations, making the surrounding residents bear 100% of the burden for the placement of this facility. I can’t help but ask the question whether such a facility would be so eagerly awaited if the plans affected villages or areas like Brookman’s Park. And one can’t help but ask the question of whether there is indeed a ‘master plan’ for the area? The council has sold off plots of land over the years which would have been much better suited to a temporary housing site (eg the old council offices near B&Q) due to access and amenities especially when considering proximity to local employment, transport etc…
But we must remember, it’s not about who lives there! The redevelopment of the site with 4/5 storey blocks is no more palatable if it were a private developer asking for these exceptions!