FAQs (click on More to view)
- a strong sense of community,
- the foundation to deliver transformation,
- sustainable investment, into the future.
- consistent standards,
- equitable costs for residents,
- efficient management of assets,
- and a community-led governance structure.
Its core functions include:
- Management and maintenance of any non-adopted community assets and infrastructure.
- Public Open Space Management and Maintenance (nature areas, sports pitches, parks, woodlands, SUDS)
- Financial Management and Investment
- Community Facilities and Services (community centres, sports pavilions, playing fields, art/cultural spaces, play areas, allotments, community gardens)
- Placemaking and Supporting the Creation of Community (fostering relationships and establishing activities that support the creation of a successful community).
provides the opportunity to flex over time to accommodate an increasing range of functions and therefore roles and responsibilities
facilitates the opportunity to take on charitable status in the future;
not-for-profit structure ensures that income generated can be recycled into the company and the Programme Area communities;
allows for additional income streams and assets to be developed, to respond to changing needs;
by owning both strategic (e.g. a community centre) and smaller-scale assets, it will provide flexibility for assets to evolve over time to reflect changing circumstances / needs.
- Developer contributions (these will be secured through Site Allocations across the Programme Area and will help with the setup and resourcing),
- Gap funding during early occupation e.g. MHCLG / Homes England,
- Income from commercial/community facilities e.g. public halls or local shops,
- Grants and investment income,
- Local income generators (e.g., microgrids, data trusts),
- Residents’ service charges.
- Has a range of mixed income generators including commercial assets and an initial endowment
- Enables community cohesion through engagement and placemaking
- Includes a small (but growing) team - ground staff help build sense of community with visitors
- It’s a not-for-profit, company limited by guarantee with charitable status
- Has a Board of Trustees who oversee it, with representatives from the local community
- Has ability to apply for external grants and funds
- Manages a number of additional smaller sites as well as the park, including Hill End Garden of Rest and several small play areas on the housing development
- Doesn’t have a resident service charge as receives sufficient income from interest on £2 million endowment from Department of Health, commercial assets and donations/grants etc
- Doesn’t provide transformative impact to the wider area, such as high quality placemaking on other sites, although there are many community assets that are used by the wider community
- Range of specialist assets in the HGC Programme Area will require wider expert knowledge
- Sinking fund is limited so need to manage maintenance programme
Who are Hemel Garden Communities?
Hemel Garden Communities (HGC) is an ambitious strategic development programme which will transform and grow Hemel Hempstead and create attractive, sustainable new neighbourhoods to its north and east by 2050.
Around 20,000 new homes will be delivered across the Hemel Garden Communities Programme Area with up to 10,500 in the Growth Areas and a further 9,350 across the town, including opportunity areas, smaller sites allocations and windfall (unexpected) sites. In addition, there will be extensive commercial areas, new jobs, new infrastructure and assets. You can view our website here.
What do we mean by Stewardship?
In planning terms, stewardship refers to the long-term care, management and responsibility for a place and its assets and infrastructure, ensuring they thrive ‘in perpetuity’ for future generations.
What do we mean by Placemaking?
Placemaking puts people at the heart of the planning, design and management of new development to create high quality, distinctive and inclusive places where people want to live, work and spend time. It’s about creating environments that feel welcoming, useful and meaningful, not just functional.
What is the purpose of the HGC Stewardship and Placemaking Supplementary Planning Document (SPD)?
Making sure that new communities integrate with those that are already established is key to the successful growth of Hemel Hempstead. It’s also essential that any assets and infrastructure created can be used and enjoyed by all and be well-maintained and managed for generations to come.
The SPD sets out the policy and guidance on stewardship and placemaking for developers/landowners (applicants) working on sites within the HGC Programme Area which includes the new developments allocated through the draft Local Plans (Dacorum Borough Council and St Albans City and District Council) within the HGC Growth Areas, as well as the wider town of Hemel Hempstead and potentially beyond the HGC Programme Area.
The SPD will ensure an equitable approach throughout the town, so that the development sites delivered are aligned in their approach to stewardship and placemaking, creating:
Why is a Stewardship Strategy needed?
Without a Strategy, there is a serious risk of multiple management companies operating across the new developments, lacking coordination, long-term accountability, or a shared vision. This is likely to lead to inconsistencies in quality of service for residents and increasing costs, a major problem on new sites across the country.
Having a clear Stewardship Strategy ensures that any outdoor spaces, facilities, and infrastructure created through HGC and the wider expansion of the town, can be used and enjoyed by all and successfully managed and maintained for generations to come. This will facilitate a shared sense of ownership, identify and inclusivity in relation to new developments, leading to buy-in from local residents and businesses.
Why is a single overarching Stewardship Body proposed?
Through wide-ranging consultation with key partners and stakeholders, an overarching stewardship body was considered to be the most effective way to deliver the HGC Stewardship and Placemaking approach. A single, overarching body ensures:
What is an Umbrella Stewardship Body?
The USB will be responsible for the long-term management and operation of community assets and infrastructure, incorporating the town of Hemel Hempstead and the Growth Area. It will facilitate a more equitable and aligned strategy approach.
What is the alternative Stewardship Hubs model?
Stewardship Hubs provide a similar approach to the USB. It is an independent, not-for-profit, charitable trust, established to take long-term responsibility for the management and maintenance of public open space (POS) and community assets in new developments.
What will the USB/Stewardship Hub be responsible for?
Its core functions include:
How does the Stewardship Hub operate?
The Umbrella Stewardship Body/Stewardship Hubs would be set up as a Company Limited by Guarantee.
What are the benefits of a Company Limited by Guarantee?
There are a number of benefits, including:
Who will govern the Stewardship Body?
There will be Board of Directors and/or Trustees who will govern the Stewardship Body. This is likely to be made by of nominations from the Council, landowners/developers, affordable housing providers, local stakeholders and residents and specialists e.g for open space or BNG. The Governance structure will enable independent decision making, whilst embedded in the community.
How will the Stewardship Body be financed?
Funding will come from a mixed-income model, such as:
Why is mixed income important?
A mixed income model is key to enabling the proposed stewardship body to manage the highs and lows of economic cycles and particularly to manage costs to residents.
What is ‘gap' funding’?
Gap funding covers the difference between early operational costs of the USB/Stewardship Hub and the income received from residents during the initial phases of occupation, before a site is fully built out.
When would the Umbrella Stewardship Body be set up?
The Stewardship Body will be set up in advance of the occupation of the first homes and commercial buildings to enable the collection of estate charges from new residents and wider arrangements, to be put in place.
Who will manage the assets?
The Umbrella Stewardship Body will be responsible for the long-term operation, and management of community assets and infrastructure across the Programme Area. These will include freehold (or long lease, or licence) of both strategic and smaller scale assets.
It may be agreed that selected assets will be adopted by the Authorities e.g. Highways or Sustainable Drainage Systems functions, as part of statutory requirements.
The Applicants should set out and agree with the Authorities, the list of assets that will be placed in the care of the Stewardship Body. This will be documented and secured through relevant planning obligations.
How will compliance be achieved?
Strategic and operational requirements will be imposed through S106 obligations, which allow the Authorities, in their capacity as local planning authorities, to monitor and enforce the effectiveness of the service standards, service charges and KPIs for the life of the development.
Stewardship and Placemaking requirements for Applicants for Major Development Sites, including major windfall developments, within the HGC Programme Area are set out within the SPD.
Will there be any monitoring?
S106 obligations will be used to secure the provision of assets, their construction and timing of their delivery, their inspection and certification as complete to the appropriate standard, maintenance period (as appropriate) and transfer of completed assets to the adoption body or Umbrella Stewardship Body/Stewardship Hub.
Wider stewardship monitoring and review requirements, as considered necessary by the local authorities, dealing with such matters as KPIs and performance standards will be secured by s106 or other appropriate mechanisms.
What are the similarities and differences between the Umbrella Stewardship Model/Stewardship Hubs approach and the Highfield Park Trust in St Albans?