Sustainability Workshop
16 October 2012
Held at the Park Inn, Watford
Present:
Tom Dobrashian (TD) (Chair)
Programme Director
Watford Health Campus
Paul Woods (PW)
AECOM
Paul Stewart (PS)
AECOM
Martina Girvan (MG)
AECOM
Kathryn Robson (KR)
Partnerships & Performance
Watford BC
1 Welcome, introductions and matters arising
Action
TD, as Chair, welcomed people to the workshop and invited AECOM to present an
overview of sustainability within the Watford Health Campus scheme in advance of
the workshop session. This would give people the level of information and
understanding to enable them to discuss issues in greater depth.
Workshop session
2 (Group)
Notes from the three tables’ workshop sessions are attached.
The groups were asked to consider 5 questions:
1. What do you think are the main strengths of the sustainability proposals for
the Health Campus?
2. What benefits do you think the sustainability proposals will deliver for the
scheme and for Watford?
3. Is there anything missing from the sustainability proposals that you were
expecting to see and that you think should be considered?
4. Can you think of anything that might prevent the sustainability proposals
being delivered?
5. Is there any area that you would like more information on?
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Watford Health Campus sustainability workshop – 16 October 2012
Feedback from workshop tables
Table 1
1. What do you think are the main strengths of the sustainability proposals for the Health
Campus?
- all the sustainability proposals sound good as long as they work
- more ambitious targets for renewables – i.e. 5% power target should be higher and not
‘lumped in’ with the CHP
2. What benefits do you think the sustainability proposals will deliver for the scheme and for
Watford?
- Biodiversity
- River proposals – need detail
- Less energy consumption so lower energy bills for residents and businesses
- Reducing air pollution along Vicarage Road
- self-contained retail onsite will help reduce car journeys
3. Is there anything missing from the sustainability proposals that you were expecting to see
and that you think should be considered?
- use of permeable hard surfaces for drainage
4. Can you think of anything that might prevent the sustainability proposals being delivered?
- money / cost
- ‘where practicable’
- over ambition
5. Is there any area that you would like more information on
- river proposals – can it be cleaned up
- green roves and living wall – who would maintain them
- wider area transport study i.e. Waterfields Way junction
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Table 2
1. What do you think are the main strengths of the sustainability proposals for the Health
Campus?
- diversity of the different habitats – water (still and running) / marsh / reed beds / water
meadows / water margins / trees / other meadows / green roots / community growing areas.
Currently have the cultivated allotment areas
- the scheme, as it stands, includes 650 homes without using allotment land
2. What benefits do you think the sustainability proposals will deliver for the scheme and for
Watford?
- Additional open space
- using green spaces surrounding the hospital (including the allotments) to contribute to the
cooling effect
- using water from run off to make site more viable overall
3. Is there anything missing from the sustainability proposals that you were expecting to see
and that you think should be considered?
- Farm Terrace allotment site should be included in the overall audit and evaluation of the
site to see how it contributes to the overall biodiversity
- better integration needed between the Health Campus and Croxley Rail Link
4. Can you think of anything that might prevent the sustainability proposals being delivered?
- money / cost
5. Is there any area that you would like more information on
- the types of small / medium sized industrial developments that would increase the viability
of the scheme and protect the allotments
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Table 3
1. What do you think are the main strengths of the sustainability proposals for the Health
Campus?
- SUDS – sloping sit to review
- rain water capture – flushing (potential)
- ‘grey water’
- road route – alleviate traffic pressure in West Watford – Hospital traffic / staff – 600 new
homes + 1800 staff
- construction materials
- soil relocation
- demolition materials reused
- energy use should be improved as existing poor buildings will be replaced – more
sustainable buildings
2. What benefits do you think the sustainability proposals will deliver for the scheme and for
Watford?
- innovation potential - solar energy / PU Panels
3. Is there anything missing from the sustainability proposals that you were expecting to see
and that you think should be considered?
- Design coding potential (scale of new development
- balancing of land uses ‘BREEM communities approach’
- locational issues – hub shopping facilities
- innovation potential - solar energy / PU Panels
- use of allotments as a community facility
- supply of water to football ground
- CHP energy centre – could it be for the whole development or even outside the site?
4. Can you think of anything that might prevent the sustainability proposals being delivered?
- money / cost – versus BREEM code level 4 – ‘excellent’ – although this will be standard in
future
5. Is there any area that you would like more information on
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