Why Heathbourne Green

Background

National:

The UK’s elderly population is growing dramatically, with 12.5 million people aged 65+ and six million aged over 75 currently living in the UK.
The Government predicts that a quarter of the population will be over 65 by 2041 and there is already a severe and growing shortage of specialist retirement housing.
The Government recognises that we must improve the diversity and supply of housing options for older people and boost the supply of specialist accommodation.
It is estimated that appropriate rightsizing and the release of under occupied homes would result in 50,000 fewer homes being needed to be built each year nationally.

Hertsmere:

In Hertsmere, there is projected to be a 44% increase in the 65+ population to 2036, accounting for at least a third of local population growth.
75% of the population of Hertsmere is concentrated in the west of the Borough.
The care needs of Hertsmere residents irrespective of age is increasing with a projected 61%+ increase in residents in the borough suffering from Dementia up to 2036.
28,000 Hertsmere households are under occupying their homes, with 8,318 households under occupying in Bushey.
Rightsizing homes for an ageing population would release under occupied homes, creating a fairer housing market.
An ageing population will increase requirements on already stretched health and care services in the Borough.

Heathbourne Green responds to both the local challenges that have been identified and also to the increasing recognition that:

Older people are not a single homogenous group and, as people age, they do not want to live exclusively with other older people;
Health outcomes, longevity and the quality of life are all enhanced by living in an active, thriving community, supported by but not reliant on traditional health care;
Placemaking and design are critically important if older people are to be encouraged to downsize or ‘rightsize’ into suitable housing and free up established family housing which will become increasingly unsuitable and isolating for them as they age; and
High quality service delivery is dependent on successful recruitment and retention of keyworkers, for which the affordability and availability of local housing plays an important role.

Heathbourne Green will create an age-friendly and inclusive community.
It takes a well-documented need and strives to do something exceptional to meet it.

Our Vision

Our vision is to create an exemplar, inclusive, and age-friendly community through placemaking that is aspirational, that meets the needs of an increasingly ageing population through different levels of activity and care, adds to the quality of life and reduces dependency on healthcare and social services by focusing on health and well-being.

Heathbourne Green will reclaim a former landfill site, where the land is of poor agricultural quality (unsuitable for food production and for inhabiting wildlife), by providing much needed specialist housing across a mix of housing types and tenures, together with areas of landscaping and community open space, health services and a range of amenities currently missing from Bushey.

Our full Visions and Values of Heathbourne Green document can be downloaded here.

What benefits will Heathbourne Green deliver to Bushey and Hertsmere:

Much needed age-friendly and inclusive homes keeping older people safe, healthy, and living independently for longer. This in turn will free up existing larger homes for use by families in Hertsmere.
Reduced pressure on critically stretched healthcare and social services in Hertsmere by directly combating loneliness and isolation with on-site health and wellness facilities designed around social prescribing.
A place designed to support residents in an active future, where they can age in place and thrive in a connected community, setting new standards in meeting the needs of an ageing population.
The development will be accessible, affordable, and available to all, adding missing amenities and services for the benefit of Bushey as a whole.
Key worker housing will be provided for care and other public sector workers
The range of services, amenities, and good quality affordable housing responds uniquely to needs in Bushey and would not be viable on allocated housing land.
Click here to see a full list of the benefits our proposa ls will provide.

The site is ideally placed to meet this need:

Heathbourne Green is a former landfill site, incapable of productive agricultural use and is unsuitable for both food production and for inhabiting wildlife.
The site is enclosed by the strong boundary of the M1 and A41 meaning that it would not create a precedent for sprawl or risk the separation between Bushey, Elstree and other settlements – it ‘belongs’ to Bushey.
The development will be truly landscape-led, evolving through public consultation and an exceptional process of design review to respect its location and to meet the government’s objectives for building beautiful.

Heathbourne Green aims to be an exemplar, age-friendly, intergenerational community that can better support Hertsmere in meeting the local needs of an ageing population with social prescribing at its heart, unlike anywhere in the UK..

Planning Application

Following an exemplary and comprehensive pre-application consultation process, Trulocom has submitted a planning application (reference: 24/0692/OUTEI) to Hertsmere Borough Council.

View our application here.

Heathbourne Green - Trulocom