'˜I cried when I saw the plans': Hemel Hempstead residents fight plans for a second high-rise tower block from same developers

There are plans to build a three-storey office block but also a 15-storey tower

Planning permission for The Beacon, a 17-storey tower block touted as the ‘world’s most sustainable’, has already been granted for a site off of London Road.

Now, the same developers - Lumiere - have submitted plans to build a second block, 15-storeys high, on the same road.

It forms part of a double-application for the Anthony Betts car showroom site and residents think the tower block has sneaked “under the radar.”

“I cried when I saw the plans to be honest,” said Boxmoor resident and campaign group member Abigail Evans. “It’s a beautiful part of Hemel.

“It’s just not right for the area – to put it next to the moor is crazy. It feels as if the rights of the developers are more important than the rights of people living here.”

Nigel Crane, who lives on London Road, said: “The Founding Fathers of the Boxmoor Trust will be spinning in their graves.

“I’m not against progress – but it has to be sympathetic to residents, not to developers who pitch up and throw glass and metal at the skyline.”

Maria Oliver, who lives in Boxmoor, added: “It will be an absolute monstrosity. It would block the view of the moor.

“We’re all trying to keep on top of these applications and it’s a major headache – it feels like the wool is being pulled over our eyes.

“Are they (the developers) just putting in more and more proposals to wear us down?”

A Dacorum Borough Council spokesman said: “The details of the application will be confirmed at a meeting between the case officer and the applicant next week.”

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