Planning application submitted for innovative new neighbourhood off Westwick Row
A planning application has been submitted to Dacorum Borough Council for a new neighbourhood of 75 homes in Leverstock Green.
The development aims to set a new benchmark for low-carbon, community-focused housing, helping to make housing more affordable through lower living costs and more flexible housing choices. The two-hectare project situated off Westwick Row is being brought forward by The Crown Estate and TOWN, the UK’s leading cohousing developer, and is designed to showcase how new suburban development can deliver stronger communities, better homes and strong environmental outcomes.
The project explores an innovative mix of housing products and tenures, including novel approaches to rent and community-oriented housing. Homes will be arranged in clusters around shared gardens, play spaces, green routes and a central public square. These shared spaces will be supported by a management approach that embeds community stewardship, encouraging neighbourly interaction and helping to build a strong sense of community.
A Common House sits at the heart of a cohousing community that forms part of the housing offer. The Common House features a kitchen and dining room for shared meals, a living room, two guest bedrooms and flexible rooms for everyday activities.
As well as the Common House, a small community hub will be available for the neighbourhood and the wider community. The aim is to create a sociable place to live where people can know their neighbours, share resources and look out for each other.
Commenting on the proposals, Guy Rochez, Associate Director at TOWN: “We’re proud of these proposals. At Westwick Row we’re bringing together innovative approaches to housing products and tenures to demonstrate a new approach to suburban development, shaped through close collaboration with local people and future residents. That process has given the project a clarity of purpose you rarely see at this stage.”
Rob Chesworth, Head of Strategic Land, The Crown Estate added: “These proposals represent a truly collaborative approach with the local community. By exploring innovative new approaches to housing, we are seeking to deliver a new neighbourhood that is environmentally responsible and designed to be more affordable to live in. Low-energy homes, combined with a mix of tenures, are intended to help reduce running costs while offering greater choice for residents.”
The scheme has been designed by an award-winning architectural team including Periscope, Mole and Archio. The masterplan is built around ambitious environmental targets, designed to reduce energy use and lower residents’ bills, therefore improving long-term affordability. The landscape proposals retain and strengthen existing hedgerows, introduce more than 125 new trees and provide communal gardens, play areas and food-growing spaces.
A standout feature of the proposed development is its participatory approach. Over 30 hours of structured codesign workshops brought local residents, renters and future residents of the Westwick Row cohousing community directly into the design process, influencing everything from street layouts to access routes, landscape character and the design of shared buildings, all the while ensuring that it would work with the surrounding area. Three groups were involved: the Ideas Exchange — a panel selected to reflect the demographic make-up of the local area — a Renters’ Panel, and the Cohousing Group. Each offered detailed insight from different perspectives, supported by wider public consultation across Leverstock Green, helping to inform the final proposals.
This approach was not only about gathering feedback but about exploring a new model for how neighbourhoods can be created and stewarded. The ambition is for residents and the local community to play an active role in governance as the project moves from planning to construction and long-term management.
Subject to approval, the scheme will deliver 75 homes, a community hub, generous public open space and new walking and cycling links that open the site to both Leverstock Green and future neighbourhoods to the east of Hemel Hempstead.