Plans have been advanced to build 250 homes and a supermarket on a golf course.<\/p>\n
Hertsmere borough councillors agreed to redevelop Bushey Golf and Country Club in Hertfordshire at a meeting on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
About 60% of the site – which is owned by the council and has not been used as a golf course since 2018 – will be public open space after the redevelopment.<\/p>\n
The council plans to contribute \u00a33m towards the cost of a community hub, featuring a supermarket, nursery, community centre, arts centre and car park.<\/p>\n
The community centre would also include space for Bushey Museum & Art Gallery as well as a boxing club, cafe, Citizens Advice Bureau, community police office, large multi-use hall, and a soft play area.<\/p>\n
The hub will be paid for with a further \u00a34.7m from Community Infrastructure Levy<\/a> receipts from the site’s developers, Hill Group and Griggs Homes.<\/p>\n The remainder of the funding will come from money raised by the sale of the land and other project-related income, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service<\/a>.<\/p>\n Half of the 250 homes will be classed as affordable.<\/p>\n ‘Costs have rocketed’<\/p>\n Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Shenton, cabinet member for finance, said the project had been in the works for eight years under the previous Conservative administration and the current Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition.<\/p>\n “It is high time we moved from good intentions to getting something done,” he said.<\/p>\n He pointed out that the council had already spent \u00a31.17m on the former golf course, but only generated \u00a3605,000 from the site.<\/p>\n “While we have been considering our options, the cost of building has rocketed.”<\/p>\n Shenton said the development would help meet the government’s housing target of more than 1,000 new homes a year in Hertsmere.<\/p>\n However Conservative group leader Lynette Sullivan questioned whether there was a “clear evidence-based justification for funding community facilities that should be paid for by those developing this land”.<\/p>\n She called for the administration to delay a decision on the project until they could provide further information and “tell us exactly why the additional millions are required”.<\/p>\n The Labour leader of the council, Jeremy Newmark, warned that the council “can’t avoid difficult decisions” and said “any delay fails local people”.<\/p>\n Do you have a story suggestion for Beds, Herts or Bucks? Contact us below.<\/p>\n Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a> and X<\/a>.<\/p>\n More on this storyRelated internet links