Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council granted permission for the AJ100 practice\u2019s masterplan at a meeting on 18 November. Councillors voted in favour of the plans for the 5.2ha Wheat Quarter masterplan, which sits north of the wider brownfield site.<\/p>\n
BGY\u2019s scheme features 578 residential units across multiple tenures, including 304 build-to-rent flats, an 180-key aparthotel, 141 extra care housing units and 133 townhouses. The client backing the project is Malaysian developer IJM.<\/p>\n
The application site includes a Grade II-listed 1920s grain silo complex designed by Louis de Soissons \u2013 the architect of Welwyn Garden City \u2013 that BGY says will be \u2018sensitively refurbished to house a competitive socialising experience, bar and restaurant\u2019 recognising the former Shredded Wheat factory, which stopped operating in 2008 and once employed almost 400 people.<\/p>\n
According to the planning officers\u2019 report, the retained buildings are the Grade II-listed production hall, grain and boiler houses and a section of the silos. The rest of the site is virtually clear.<\/p>\n
Once complete, the restored 1920s silos will contain the aparthotel and sky bar, co-working space, and a rock-climbing facility.<\/p>\n
A first phase of 208 mixed-tenure homes on the southern portion of the site was designed by Collado Collins Architects and delivered by Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing in partnership with Higgins Partnerships, completed in 2023.<\/p>\n
The entire former factory site had outline masterplan consent granted in 2018 for up to 1,500 homes under a ZM Land & Capital-led development vehicle. Following the collapse of that developer into receivership, IJM Land acquired the northern portion of the site in late 2023 and brought forward a revised masterplan with BGY.<\/p>\n