A £13m investment by Watford Borough Council and Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership has made possible the transformation of deteriorating building stock and former industrial wasteland into an exemplary business park for the future, set to be a magnet for hundreds of creative, life sciences and manufacturing jobs.

The series of sustainable refurbished buildings will create 7,100 sqm of commercial space and public realm, split across larger warehouse buildings and smaller, pavilion-style structures. A glue laminated timber or ‘glulam’ structure is used for the repeatable modules containing pods. Glulam has approximately 2.5 times less embodied energy than its steel equivalent, and its ability to be constructed off-site allows for cost and time savings, and a reduction of dust, waste and noise pollution on site.

Skelly & Couch has designed spaces to be naturally ventilated via acoustic panels while façades maximise daylighting to reduce energy use and prevent overheating and heat loss. The development features a roof-mounted photovoltaic array on each building which powers a renewable heat pump to produce 100% of its electricity; and electric car charging points. 

The project gained unanimous planning approval in January 2021. It is anticipated that the progressive approach to the sustainable redevelopment will be extended eventually to the rest of the 30-hectare Watford Business Park.