More about Berkhamsted

Berkhamsted, including Northchurch, is the second largest settlement in the borough.

The settlement as a whole has good transport links, being served by mainline railway services, as well as being adjacent to the A41 which links the town to Hemel Hempstead, Tring and Aylesbury, and the M25.

It is an attractive valley and historic market town, with a rich built heritage, surrounded by the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is linear in character which has strongly influenced historic growth up and along the valley sides. Key transport links, the River Bulbourne and the Grand Union Canal all run along the valley floor. Berkhamsted’s historic core is large, densely built-up and contains many high quality and listed properties.  

The area is served by a town centre that provides an important district, cultural and service centre role and supports a thriving evening economy. A variety of businesses can be found there and in the employment areas around Billet Lane/Northbridge Road.

The Northchurch area has its own historic core and provides a complementary range of facilities, albeit on a smaller scale than the rest of the town. It supports a small local centre that provides for day-to-day shopping needs and other services for residents.

Berkhamsted Town Council are at an early stage in preparing a Neighbourhood Plan.

The deletion of a number of Green Belt allocations at Berkhamsted reduces the overall impact of new development, particularly relating to the local road network around Shootersway, and schooling, across the south and west of the town. However, it does mean losing some flexibility in housing supply in terms of the timing, spread and variety of sites.

We are suggesting retaining the South Berkhamsted draft Green Belt allocation (Bk01), placing greater reliance on this major site to deliver the bulk of new homes and facilities in the town. Normally, larger sites take longer to plan for before a substantial number of homes can be built out. However, allocating one larger site rather than several smaller sites means we can better protect the rest of the town from the impact of new development. 

The scheme would create a new neighbourhood of around 850 homes in a relatively less sensitive location in terms of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Its larger scale will help deliver family and affordable homes, provide a package of infrastructure to encourage walking, cycling and public transport, support a more sustainable development, and secure a new primary school, alongside other community facilities and a network of green spaces. Some measures will be required to offset its impact on the local road network and reduce road noise from the A41.

There will still be opportunities for small to medium sites to come forward within the town boundary, but these will be generally limited given the built-up and historic character of the town and limited availability of vacant brownfield sites. We estimate that such sites will provide 414 homes to 2040. 139 homes already have planning permission and we predict further (windfall) opportunities for 275 homes.