BROXBOURNE
Broxbourne - Keep the Heart In Hertfordshire
W
ith upcoming developments such as Brookfield Riverside, town centre improvements in Waltham Cross and the highly-anticipated Sunset Waltham Cross Studios for film, television and animation, Broxbourne is certainly a place to invest in right now. While Broxbourne boasts beautiful open spaces and thriving town centres, economic resilience and growth in a post-pandemic world is crucial to the Borough, allowing residents and businesses to flourish and ‘Keep the Heart in Hertfordshire’. Land to the west of Waltham Cross has been purchased by Blackstone real estate and Hudson Pacific Properties for a new centre for film, television and digital production. This will be the partners’ first expansion of their Sunset Studios platform outside of the United States. The 91 acre site, close to M25 junction 25, was identified in the Borough’s approved Local Plan as a strategic employment site. This development will be a significant investment for the area, creating over 4,500 permanent jobs and is expected to contribute more than £300million to the local economy,
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INSPIRE
annually. A successful open day for the new studios was held on Saturday 23 October, welcoming residents to view future plans for the site. With £5million of financial support from the Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), Broxbourne Council is developing a business start-up centre on the Theobalds Business Park. The whole site will provide high quality premises suitable for a range of users, including offices, workshops and engineering facilities. The location is ideal for embryonic start-up companies, expanding the opportunities for skills development and the
creation of high value jobs in Broxbourne, tackling the shortage of local employment. The new business start-up centre provides a greater opportunity to capitalise on its location, close to the upcoming film, television and digital production studios in Waltham Cross. The new business park and training facilities within the business centre will help support local residents with the necessary skills to enable them to engage in these jobs when they become available. The entire site is a key element of the Council’s strategy for employment growth as set out in the adopted Local Plan 2018 – 2033, sitting in an important employment section of the A10, between its junction with the M25 and College Road. The centre is due for completion in early 2023. Broxbourne Council has a proven track record for this type of centre, having already developed the highly successful Ambition Broxbourne Business Centre (ABBC) incubation model in Hoddesdon. Following the Old Pond Strategy adoption, Broxbourne Council has also recently held a consultation for residents and businesses on the redesign of Grundy Park, with the proposed scheme planning to transform Grundy Park into a more diverse, multifunctional and accommodating green space.
