More bedrooms proposed for Brick Kiln Close car park, Bushey

The proposal to build on the former Bushey Medical Centre car park in Brick Kiln Close, was narrowly agreed at a Hertsmere Borough Council planning meeting in November 2021.

Six two-bed terraced homes over three storeys were given the green light, but not begun, and the new plans would see six three-bed terraced homes built instead.

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According to a statement submitted with the plan: “The new proposal seeks to retain the essential character and style of the consented scheme, both in its design and use of materials, with only minor changes to the principal elements at ground and first floor levels.”

To allow an extra bedroom to be added to each home, it includes new roof space.

The land was formerly used for parking for Bushey Medical Centre which has since relocated. The car park has been described as "unkept, overgrown, and unattractive".

Marked in red is the development site in Brick Kiln Close. Credit: Google Maps

However, a neighbour to the site told the 2021 meeting that he had gathered a 55-signature petition opposing the scheme.

He described his neighbourhood, which borders Bushey and Oxhey, as "beautiful, historic, and quaint", and said it is "plain to see" the styling of the six homes would be a "complete change" and "overdevelopment" for the area.

Peter Rutledge, who had been a ward councillor for Bushey St James at the time, also spoke against the application as a community advocate.

He cited the existing Victorian-style buildings in the area and said these plans are a "scar to blight our already overcrowded landscape in Bushey" and labelled them “totally out of keeping with the surroundings”.

The proposed development from the front (Image: PRC Architecture & Planning Ltd on behalf of NL Care Bushey Ltd & NHS Property Services Ltd)

Planning agent Douglas Bond responded by saying that there had been "extensive one-to-one" consultation with residents.

The agent, acting on behalf of NHS Property Services Ltd, said the proposal was a "sensitive" development and in “accord with the pattern and character of developments surrounding the site".

The front portion of the medical centre site has been developed for a care home.

At the planning meeting Mr Bond highlighted that the development would allow funds to be reinvested into the NHS.

The new plan apparently "received a favourable response" at the pre-application stage, according to one of the documents.