06/08/2018

Mayor visits Watford Riverwell

Peter Taylor, the elected Mayor of Watford, this week visited the newly opened marketing suite at Watford Riverwell.

The Mayor was welcomed by the Watford Riverwell project team led by Andrew Storey, Senior Development Director at Kier Property. The team discussed with the Mayor the vision for the Watford Riverwell project and the significant progress made so far. The visit also included a tour of the new marketing suite and show home, which opened on 21st July 2018.

The marketing suite is now selling the first new homes being built at Woodlands. Woodlands comprises 95 new homes offering well-designed, modern apartment living in landscaped grounds that complement the attractive woodland setting. Construction started at Woodlands in January 2018 and the first residents will move into their new homes in Spring 2019.

Commenting on his visit to Watford Riverwell, the Mayor said:

“I am delighted to visit Watford Riverwell for the first time as Watford’s elected Mayor. My first visit as a Councillor a year ago was for a community event to clean up the River Colne and it is great to see the progress made since then. Today the River Colne is the cleanest it’s been in at least a century and the first new homes at Woodlands are going up quickly, ready for new residents to move in next year.

It has been great to tour the new marketing suite and see the quality of the new homes being built here. There is real interest in the new apartments from first time buyers, key workers including Watford General Hospital staff, and local people here in Watford, which is good to see. I look forward to visiting again as work progresses and the benefits of Watford Riverwell for our community are realised.”

Andrew Storey, Senior Development Director at Kier Property said:

“It was a pleasure to meet the Mayor and show him the new marketing suite. We had an excellent working relationship with Baroness Thornhill during her time as Mayor and we look forward to working closely with the Mayor as we continue to work collaboratively with Watford Council to deliver Watford Riverwell.”

The Mayor’s visit comes at the end of a successful month for Watford Riverwell. As well as the opening of the new Marketing Suite, the second residential phase of the project at Waterside was approved by Watford Council on 25th July.

Waterside will deliver 408 new homes, including 118 family sized affordable homes, set in a newly created 3.5acre landscaped setting along the rejuvenated River Colne. This green environment will include publicly accessible open spaces, play spaces, pedestrian routes and a new promenade along the River Colne designed to provide health and wellbeing benefits for residents and the wider community.

In April 2018, a separate application for the Mayfield retirement village was also approved by Watford Borough Council. This specialist retirement village will accommodate a further 253 homes that will be delivered in partnership with Mayfield Villages, the new retirement villages proposition from Audley Group.

The project team is now working up proposals for the central area to the north of Thomas Sawyer Way which will include plans for a new multi-storey-car-park and a pedestrianised plaza with a hotel, shops, restaurant, new homes and an improved link to the hospital. The first element to be brought forward will be the multi-storey carpark and a planning application is expected to be submitted in Autumn 2018.

The Marketing Suite is located off the main roundabout on Thomas Sawyer Way at the heart of Watford Riverwell where people can view the stunning 2 bedroom Show Some and use an interactive site model to identify the apartment that best suits their requirements. Prices start from £285,000 for a 1 bedroom apartment and £335,000 for 2 bedroom apartments both of which are available with the Government’s Help to Buy Scheme. For more information, visit the Marketing Suite which is now open Thursday to Monday; call 01923 375442 for more information.