Shaffold Knoll plan for care home and 33 properties blocked

Shaffold Knoll, an area of land next to Nash Mills Village Hall between Nash Mills and Hemel Hempstead, was eyed as a site for 33 homes and a 70-bed care home in plans submitted last year.

A decision notice published by Dacorum Borough Council yesterday (July 9) confirms the proposal has been refused due to its “strong contribution” to the green belt and the development not being considered “high design quality”.

CGI of how the development would look, submitted alongside the plan (Image: Progress Design/Clovercourt (Sarratt) Ltd/Dacorum Council planning portal.) It comes after Kings Langley and District Residents Association raised concerns that it would erode the gap between Hemel Hempstead and Nash Mills just as an approved development is built at Rectory Farm between Nash Mills and Kings Langley.

Chairman Gary Ansell described proposed housebuilding in the area as the “death of the green belt by a thousand cuts”, which would “slaughter” Kings Langley as a village by merging it with Hemel Hempstead and Nash Mills.

Developer Clovercourt had highlighted the scheme’s low overall density and sustainable location, while claiming that hardstanding at the site and its use for car boot sales made it “more grey belt than green belt”.

It also touted the affordable housing, biodiversity, and care home jobs that would be created.

Responding to initial backlash, managing director Gary Sewell said: “If we are going to get Britain building again and try and create some growth for public services this is exactly the right scheme to build.

“The brownfield first argument is tired, and we all know there isn’t any available brownfield land left. 

Shaffold Knoll, Nash Mills (Image: Google Street View)

"If the brownfield land existed we wouldn’t be four million homes short in the UK.”

Under the plans, a single care home block would have been built near Lower Road, with a mixture of flats and homes behind it accessed via a new road.

As an outline application, a further full planning application would still have been required before the development could go ahead even if it was approved.

However, landscaping was the only reserved matter.

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Designs included a mix of detached, semi-detached, and terraced homes of varying sizes.

Of the 33 properties, 12 were designated as affordable housing and the proposal stated that the layout had been designed to provide adequate parking for the properties and care home.

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