Our ambition for the site is to provide up to 80 new high-quality homes, including up to 40 affordable homes (50% of the total homes proposed on the site). The mix of house types and tenures will aim to meet the needs of households looking to enter the housing market, buy a family home, or right size. Furthermore, the scheme aims to deliver a high-quality and sustainable development, with new vehicle access off Chalfont Road and enhanced pedestrian access to the wider existing walking network.

We recently consulted with the community and held a Public Exhibition on Thursday 20th February 2025. We would like to thank everyone who has shown an interest in our proposals, asked us questions and shared their opinions with us.

You can find information on the scheme we consulted on in the Our Proposals section and PDF copies of the consultation materials are available in the Library section.

SITE LOCATION AND CONTEXT

The site is located on the northwestern edge of the village of Maple Cross and to the north of Chalfont Road.

It is bounded to the south and west by Chalfont Road, to the east by the rear gardens of the homes along Oakhill Road, and to the north by agricultural land. The site measures approximately 3.9 hectares and is currently used as arable farmland. Access to the site is currently provided via Chalfont Road.

Two public rights of way (PRoW) run to the south of the site, connecting it to other parts of the village and the adjacent countryside. The village centre can be reached in approximately a 10-minute walk or a two-minute cycle ride.

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Our Proposals

We are still in the design stage, but the emerging masterplan, below, shows how we think the new homes, vehicle and pedestrian access routes and open space could be delivered on the site.

The emerging masterplan could provide:

• Up to 80 new high-quality and energy efficient new homes.
• A mix of house types and tenures to meetthe needs of households looking to enter the housing market, buy a family home or right size.
• Up to 40 new affordable homes (50% of the total homes delivered on the site).
• Policy compliant on-site car parking, including visitor and reduced mobility spaces.
• New vehicle and pedestrian access from Chalfont Road.
• Enhanced connections to the wider amenities of Maple Cross via Chalfont Road.
• New publicly accessible green spaces, including ‘play on the way’ trail alongside the footpaths through the site.
• Retention and protection of existing good quality trees and boundary planting.
• New tree and hedgerow planting with more than a 10% Biodiversity Net Gain uplift.
• New pedestrian links to the existing Public Rights of Way.

LANDSCAPE – GREEN SPACES, RECREATION AND ECOLOGY

In addition to providing much-needed new homes, promoting healthy lifestyles and wellbeing through connection with nature, are key drivers behind the proposed landscape design.

The Landscape Concept Plan shows key features we are looking to provide as part of our proposals.

TRANSPORT

Vehicle Access

• Access to the site is proposed via a new priority junction onto Chalfont Road located at the southeastern corner of the site.
• The new access point will comprise a 5.5-metre-wide carriageway, which has been designed in accordance with Hertfordshire’s Highways Place & Movement Planning & Design Guide.
• A Stage 1 Road Safety Audit will be undertaken for the site access arrangements as part of the planning application.

Public Transport Links

• Bus stops are located in close proximity to the site on Chalfont Road and Longcroft Road. There are several bus routes operating (320, 322, W1, R1, R2, 951 and 724), which provide connections to Hemel Hempstead, Watford Junction, Borehamwood, Northwood Vernon Hospital and Garston.

Parking

• Car and cycle parking will be provided in accordance with Three Rivers District’s parking standards, set out within Three Rivers District Council’s Development Management Policies DPD (July 2023).
• One active electric vehicle charging (EVC) point will be provided for each new home.

Cycle and Pedestrian Route

• A two-metre footpath is proposed to connect the site with the existing footpath along Chalfont Road.
• The existing footpath on Chalfont Road will be widened to two metres and dropped kerbs and tactile paving will be incorporated in the design to ensure safe pedestrian access to and from the site.
• New pedestrian links will be provided to the existing Public Right of Ways’ (PRoWs), which can be accessed from the southern side of Chalfont Road at the south-western corner of the site.
• A Travel Plan will be prepared as part of the planning application to encourage sustainable travel, including cycling and walking.

DRAINAGE AND FLOODING

Surface Water Drainage

• Surface water disposal will be managed via SuDS (sustainable drainage systems) that will mimic the site’s existing, pre-development response to rainfall.
• SuDS features will be designed to accommodate the design rainfall event (i.e. the 1 in 100-year event with an additional 40% allowance for climate change) to ensure flood risk will not increase either on-site or elsewhere because of the development.
• Sufficient space for SuDS will be incorporated within the proposed design.
• Working closely with the landscape strategy, the development will have SuDS including swales, basins and ponds, benefiting the amenity, biodiversity and water quality of the development’s local environment.

Foul Water Drainage

• It is proposed that foul water that flows from the development will discharge via Chalfont Road.
• There will be no significant difficulty in connecting the new development to the existing foul water infrastructure.
• Thames Water have confirmed there is capacity in their foul water public network to accommodate the development’s discharge.

Flood Risk

• The site is located entirely within Flood Zone 1, which is the most suitable zone for all development types in terms of fluvial flood risk.
• The site is also at very low risk from all other potential sources of flooding – tidal, reservoir, surface water, groundwater and sewer.
• There is an overland surface water flow path running west to east along the southern boundary of the site adjacent to Chalfont Road. This will be considered within the design to ensure flood risk does not increase as a result of the development.

SUSTAINABILITY

Our high sustainability standards ensure that the new homes and spaces we build today arefit for the future.

We will aim to achieve this through:

• Water and energy efficient homes including the use of low and zero carbon technology (e.g. solar panels and heat source pumps).
• Provision of waste and recycling storage.
• Secure cycle storage and routes to encourage alternative modes of transport.
• Good levels of daylight/sunlight, air quality and acoustic performance.
• Responsible sourcing of materials.
• The sustainable and efficient management of waste during construction.
• Minimising surface water run-off and provision of SuDS.
• Biodiversity enhancements and a minimum 10% Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) through soft landscaping and habitat enhancement throughout the Site.

DEVELOPMENT BENEFITS

• Provision of up to 80 new high-quality homes – including a mix of house types and tenures to meet the needs of households looking to enter the housing market, buy a family home, or rightsize.
• Delivering up to 40 much-needed new affordable homes – 50% policy compliant.
• New publicly accessible green spaces, including a ‘play on the way’ trail alongside the footpaths.
• Retention and protection of existing good quality trees and boundary planting.
• New tree and hedgerow planting – creating an enhanced green western boundary to the village and more than a 10% Biodiversity Net Gain uplift.
• Promoting walking and cycling routes – incorporating new pedestrian links to the existing Public Rights of Way network.
• New vehicle and pedestrian access from Chalfont Road.
• Policy compliant car parking provision - including visitor and reduced mobility spaces.
• Use of Sustainable urban Drainage Systems (SuDS)
• A natural extension of the village – avoiding sprawl, remaining close to the village and the existing settlement of Maple Cross.
• Sustainable and energy efficient new homes.
• Achieving a minimum of 10% Biodiversity Net Gain.
• Landscape and visual impact mitigation strategy – a carefully considered design to reduce the likely landscape and visual effects resulting from residential development.
• Creating jobs for local businesses and people during construction.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Our public consultation has now closed.

We are currently reviewing your feedback and will be sharing it with the project team, who will be considering the feedback received as they work towards developing the final scheme to be submitted as a planning application to Three Rivers District Council, in due course.

When our planning application has been submitted and registered by the Council, there will be another chance for you to have your say on our final scheme. We will update this website and provide information on how you can access the application documents and submit your comments online.

Q&A