The planned redevelopment of Bushey Golf and Country Club has taken a step forward after councillors agreed to spend £400,000 on the project.
Councillors want to build housing on the site and a community hub that could provide space for the Bushey Museum and Art Gallery, a library, a police station, and a Citizens Advice Centre.
Commercial space, a multistorey car park and a nature reserve would also be included.
The council-owned site – closed since 2018 – is earmarked for around 165 homes in the draft Local Plan, which will provide a blueprint for future housing development in Hertsmere when adopted.
Hertsmere Borough Council wants to find a developer for the green belt site by January 2025, aiming to start work in the second quarter of 2026.
£61,000 has already been spent examining the feasibility of building on the site, with a further £340,000 now allocated – including an estimated £200,000 in legal costs for agreements with a developer and those leasing commercial units.
At a full council meeting yesterday (Wednesday, 20 November), council leader Cllr Jeremy Newmark (Lab, Borehamwood Cowley Hill) said he was “proud” to be progressing the project and “to have broken the endless cycle of talk and repeated consultation led by the [previous Conservative] administration opposite.”
He said the project would “bring much-needed homes” to Bushey and “develop a much-needed revenue stream” for the council.
Cllr Newmark insisted the plans had public backing and said: “The long-term solution to the housing crisis … is about building more social homes [and] more affordable homes”.
Liberal Democrat councillors, part of the joint administration in Hertsmere, also supported the plans.
Cllr Chris Shenton (LD, Bushey St James) said it is a “vital development” that will “provide a new community hub that we can all be proud of”.
He added that “open space … will occupy the overwhelming majority of the site”.
But, while Cllr Newmark said the authority has a “vision” for the site, Cllr Shenton said it wasn’t committed to “a particular type of development” or “exactly where housing should be”.
The council’s Conservative group voted against the funding plans, with Cllr Paul Morris (Bushey Heath) stating the costs should have been shared with a developer as part of a joint venture agreement.
Cllr Harvey Cohen (Con, Elstree) said the proposals “fall far short of what is required” and claimed there is “an alarming lack of detail about the vision for the site”.
He continued: “Many important questions come to mind.
“How will the vista overlooking the park be improved or preserved?
“What type of commercial units are being considered, and where is the evidence for their necessity?
“How will this redevelopment generate income, and how will the country park intended as a public open space be maintained for the long term?”
He said there was a “total lack of community input” and a “total lack of transparency” surrounding the scheme.
“Surely, before spending large sums of taxpayers’ money on acquiring the development partner, we must first scope the project, engage with residents and develop a clear vision?”
But Cllr Newmark hit back, accusing the Conservatives of “paying lip service” to the scheme and “bleating the same old lie: ‘Where’s the vision? Where’s the vision? Where’s the vision?”
He continued: “You never really wanted to see it happen, you wanted to throw spanners in the works, you wanted to delay, you can’t stomach the fact this administration is delivering.
“You talk to us about wasting taxpayers’ money; you’re the administration that did a dodgy deal with a meanwhile tenant on the site that turned into a net loss for the council.
“We reversed that, brought in a decent tenant – the creative arts school – and are making twice as much money as you were.
“You talk about loss of open space. You closed off the open space on that site; this administration acted fast to open that green space up to the public.
“You paid lip service; we deliver.”
He said making payments at this stage “speeds the process moving forward” and “could be claimed back” through a joint venture.
After the meeting, Conservative group leader Cllr Morris Bright (Elstree) told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that claims his party had put “spanners in the works” of the development were “complete and utter nonsense”. He said: “Our administration was very clear that we want to see a long-term, secure future for the Bushey Golf and Country Club site, for the benefit of existing residents, to create homes for new residents, and for it to be a jewel in Bushey’s crown for future generations.
“That takes time. We went through Covid, we went through a recession, we went through hyper inflation, we did not rush it and make a mistake. Taking time is not weakness; taking time is strength.
“The spending of £400,000 when there were contradictory messages from the two most senior members of the cabinet [about the vision for the site] is not a good use of taxpayers money.”
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