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Search the Public Notice PortalThe regeneration of the area around Watford’s Town Hall will help provide “good quality homes that are affordable for local families”, the town's mayor has said.
Peter Taylor made the comments at a cabinet meeting on Monday, July 7, as the authority signed off on plans to work with Mace on the regeneration of the Town Hall Quarter.
A 50-50 joint venture Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) will now be established between Watford Borough Council and Mace, a developer that has worked on regeneration projects elsewhere, including in Stevenage.
The Town Hall Quarter scheme includes plans to build new homes, shops, cafés, eateries and a health hub around the northern end of Watford’s High Street.
There will also be an “enhanced public square” between the Town Hall and the library.
Mr Taylor said: “This is a really positive step in the journey of establishing the new Town Hall Quarter.
“The initial vision was about making sure that this is a hub for the community and really revitalising this part of the town centre and, in order to do that, having services for the community, for business, the Colosseum, the new museum of Watford and, of course, places for people to live."
It is hoped that the regeneration will increase footfall in the area, bringing extra visitors to the leisure centre, museum, library and Town Hall café.
A council report said “there is an opportunity to utilise the existing surface car parks and other under-used spaces… to deliver much needed homes and complementary uses, including shops, eateries and a new health hub”.
The council has allocated £5m towards the LLP in its medium-term financial strategy.
Watford Borough Council began the procurement process in 2021 and selected Mace as the preferred bidder in November 2022.
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Since then, however, “very significant construction cost inflation” made the initial masterplan “unviable”.
A new route was agreed, with the first step towards achieving it requiring the new Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) to be established ahead of submitting a planning application in 2026 for the first phase of development.
Other projects underway already include the Colosseum reopening – set for August – and Town Hall refurbishment works, which will begin soon.
Cllr Nigel Bell, leader of the opposition Labour group, questioned how the LLP would be affected by the upcoming reorganisation of local government, which is set to see Watford Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council abolished and replaced by a new unitary authority.
Ben Martin, Watford Borough Council’s regeneration director, said they expected to be “substantially underway” before local government reorganisation took place, and that measures would be in place to help ensure a “transition” happened at the appropriate time.
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