Fresh choice for Herts home buyers
A new residential development in Hemel Hempstead will soon offer contemporary homes in the town, providing much-needed accommodation for local people. Detailed planning consent has been granted for 26 apartments to be built on an unused supermarket overflow car park. The neglected site will be repurposed, adding to local sustainability and injecting a fresh identity to the area.
Motion supported Royalton Group, a residential-focused real estate development company, with transport planning advice and helped to negotiate a less-than-one parking ratio for the suburban scheme. Motion Regional Director, David Lewis, explains, “The 23 spaces were found to meet the requirements of the development but fall below the borough council’s parking standards. The site is located in a residential area and benefits from easy access to a range of amenities and transport links.”
Sound commercial advice
The Royalton Group has a particular focus on delivering high-quality, well-designed residential schemes in the UK and Ireland. Chief Financial Officer, Jeremy Maxfield, comments, “The Motion team was proactive from the outset, providing sound commercial advice and regular updates throughout the planning stages.” He adds, “They were particularly adept at dealing with the highway authority, quick to address questions and support their arguments with robust data.”
Through research into comparable sites, analysis of car ownership and parking surveys, Motion’s studies concluded
that residents’ car usage would not have a material impact on the highway network or generate overspill parking on surrounding streets. David Lewis continues, “Initial concerns about overspill parking and the site access layout were allayed. It was demonstrated that parking demand could be accommodated on site, and the access visibility splays would be acceptable.”
Nearby bus and train services will connect residents to the wider Hemel Hempstead area. The local cycle network is extensive, providing reasonably flat, traffic-free routes around the town.
An abridged version of this article first appeared in the Summer 2021 edition of Insight.
Image credit: © SWAP
