Our Heath Barn 

Early last year, my good friend Jo and I, became interested in the 16th Century, Grade II property of Heath Barn on St Johns Road in Boxmoor. The building is made up of three buildings, each with a separate listing but with a clear indication that there listing was given as a group, suggesting they have historically worked together from their past as a working farm to later on as a music school for many decades.

 

The buildings sit in a square formation around a central courtyard garden which is depicted in the photograph above. You can read more about the history here, together with plenty of photographs. During our early investigations, we discovered that the owners are Hertfordshire County Council and they had intentions to turn the site into five residential dwellings. We, however, felt the building had the potential to house something far more exciting and dynamic, as well as providing something for local people in the Boxmoor community to be proud of and enjoy. 

 

We created a proposal and wrote to many different people including MP Mike Penning which was followed up with a meeting. We could have given up in the summer of 2023 when the same message was reiterated that the site was going to be turned into housing however the vision remained strong and we don't back down easily!

 

We sent emails to various members of the Place team at Dacorum Borough Council, as well as local Boxmoor councillors, attaching our proposal and sharing our vision.  This is when things started to get interesting! In September, we were made aware of a local architect who was also invested in the future of the barn - at a guess we wondered if he had grand plans for the space and ambitious visions for himself. It turned out he was a local Boxmoor architect and was keen to see the building utilised for the community. He was prepared to work with us pro bono to fight any emerging application from the council for housing and up to this date, we have been very grateful for his advice and knowledge. He has worked on various other community heritage projects namely The Frogmore Papermill following it's fire and The Cemetery in Berkhamsted. You can read more about Hugo and his work here. 

 

In October we were made aware of a leaflet circulating from Herts County councils chosen planners, Victor & Gorbing.  The leaflet illustrated their plans, clearly showing the splitting of the Heath Barn site into five residential dwellings. This prompted us to meet with a small team of interested locals and jolted us into action to create Our Heath Barns, 'Boxmoor's Hidden Gem' survey. This survey was distributed to 700 houses local houses door to door, as well as online. We received over 520 responses. Some of the key things to note from the survey results are here:

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• 91% did not think that the Heath Barn buildings would convert well to five or more private dwellings. 

• 95% thought it would be better to restore the Heath Barn site for community use, rather than develop it for housing.

• 97% would welcome an inclusive community hub in Boxmoor, with a focus on the arts and wellbeing; and supporting local, independent businesses.

 

The graphs and figures can be viewed in their entirety here: The survey helped confirm the extent of affection people had for the building, as well as a belief in the opportunities it could hold in to the future with an awareness around local needs and what the area lacks in provisions.

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During this time we met and gained advice from many charitable and not for profit organisations including The Kitchen Front CIC  (Harpenden), The Sadie Centre (Letchworth), Queens Park Arts (Aylesbury) and The Open Door (Berkhamsted). We've since met with Keely at Sunnyside Rural Trust and Elena at Frogmore Paper Mill (The Apsley Paper Trail Trust). The full list of people we've spoken to and been in touch with, can be found here. If you feel there are any other organisations who may be interested in our plans, of collaboration or partnering, do reach out.

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In anticipation of a planning application from HCC over the Christmas and new year, Jo diligently prepared a eight page policy driven objection letter. Within this document we reference elements such as.... it can be read in it's full here. 

 

We were thankful to over 160 people who relayed their objections to the planning contacts at Dacorum Borough Council. These are visible on the DBC portal, along with HCC residential plans.

Please note there are two listings for Heath Barn LBC & FUL. Most objections are allocated (for some bizarre reason) to FUL. As a result of high public interest and being 'called in' by Boxmoor's local Councillor Allen, the case will be reviewed at Committee on the evening of Thursday 12th December, 7pm, The Forum. I will speak for 3 minutes, in addition to Cllr Allen. We are hopeful that Herts County council suggestion for 'change of use from educational to residential' will not get through. However my conversations with HCC have suggested we are still welcome to bid.

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Meanwhile I continue to explore funding options for the acquisition and renovation of the building. The idea scenario would be to own the building in trust or possibly a COMMUNITY BENEFIT SOCIETY model which involves Investment contributions from the community.  We have been operating as Our Heath Barn CIC since early. Find out about Pledging (minimum £200) and donations click here. Having visited the property with Hugo in January and later with our surveyor in October, I was pleasantly surprised by the buildings condition and the vast amount of potential it holds.

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To be included in the our mailing list of almost​ 300 people on our mailing list, please email me Ourheathbarn@outlook.com or follow us @heathbarnboxmoor on Facebook & Instagram.

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I'm always keen for help. If you feel you could volunteer some time in a professional capacity (pro bono) I'd love to hear from you! 

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Thank you for your support,

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Lisa Timms

Our Heath Barn CIC

 

 

 

 

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