Caxton Hill consultation opens

Developers are holding an online consultation on the future of the Caxton Hill Industrial Estate, ahead of a potential planning application for mixed residential and commercial use.

The run-down site is allocated as employment land in the District Plan. Most of the units unoccupied and in a poor state of repair. The estate is part of a wider area of industrial and commercial buildings, with manufacturing and printing companies to the north of the estate and a larger business park to the south.

The 60 year-old estate has recently been sold by LaSalle to property development and investment company Eastwood, who are proposing a 50/50 mix of business and residential use, including "high-quality employment space, flexible for both present and future occupiers", and mixed tenure homes and housing types. 

"The least satisfactory industrial estate in terms of both quality and access is the Hertford Industrial Estate (Caxton Hill)"

Hertford & Ware Employment Study, 2016

Eastwood claim that redevelopment is the only option for the site as refurbishing the existing buildings would be unviable, costing around £11m. Access issues have also been identified as a challenge, although the option of accessing the site from John Tate Road instead of the current incline from Ware Road has been ruled out.

The consultation is available online at caxtonhillworks.com and respondents are encouraged to submit feedback by 9th December 2020. It is unclear when a planning application will be submitted.