The proposals will serve as a vibrant focal point and natural gathering place for residents, hospital workers and visitors and in supporting the growing community, will deliver a 131-bedroom hotel and over 7,000 sqft of retail space, including a local convenience store and a food and beverage outlet alongside new high-quality public realm.

Situated at the end of a ‘green spine’, proposed as part of the new Watford General Hospital, the new area will serve as a focus for existing and new phases of the masterplan and be an important place of gathering on the emerging network of routes that promote walking and cycling across Watford Riverwell.

The proposals aim to knit together the separate phases of the masterplan, and the hotel building will define the northern and eastern edges of the public space whilst transitioning seamlessly between the three-storey townhouses at Avenues, to the larger multi-storey car park (MSCP), and proposed hospital buildings to create a more harmonious and human-centered scale for the new public realm.

The building aims to unify the material palette of Watford Riverwell referencing the prominent contrasting dual colour brickwork of the surrounding residential buildings, and the metal panelling of the MSCP. Key frontages, facing routes, are divided by metal ‘breaks’ and are highlighted by a change of brickwork colour from tan to red brick. Glazed green brick will also be used to express the strong ground floor frontages with the commercial spaces and hotel entrances facing onto the central area, creating a continuous band of active frontages and supporting existing and proposed community uses.

The design of the proposals have been informed by engaging with local people to understand the needs of the evolving masterplan as well as Watford Borough Council and drawing on the expertise of the consultant team, including landscape architects, Outerspace.

Once complete, Watford Riverwell will provide around 1,000 homes, an hotel, a retirement village, retail and community spaces alongside improvements to the River Colne, and the public realm forms an important part of this exciting future for Watford.

“There have been a number of successes delivered at Watford Riverwell to date, but it is clear that to build a strong sense of community the next phase of the masterplan needs to deliver its heart; not only a focus for its different zones but also importantly a place for people to come together. The proposals will provide a well-used space at its centre and a place that can become the location for the market at the weekend, for young people to play and the focus for the new and emerging community to meet and celebrate.”

– Nigel Bidwell, Partner at JTP