Invest in Hemel

Hemel Hempstead has always been a prime business location and the focal point is Maylands Business Park, home to over 650 businesses employing over 20,000 people. Its strategic location near to London and major national and international connectivity has ensured it is a destination of choice for a variety of companies including global leaders in construction, logistics and technology.

The intention is to build on this pedigree to ensure Hemel Hempstead is a beacon for business, attracting businesses looking to relocate but also encouraging entrepreneurs to establish themselves in the centre and area.

Hemel Hempstead hosts many leading businesses including Bourne Leisure, British Standards Institute, Amazon, UTC Aerospace Systems, and Britvic to name just a few. Herts Innovation Quarter is the Enterprise Zone (EZ) for the county focused on attracting a cluster of clean tech, smart construction and enviro-tech businesses to the area, harnessing the leading edge expertise of building sciences specialists BRE Group, agricultural pioneers Rothamsted Research and the University of Hertfordshire; the EZ has various sites on Maylands Business Park.

The town and area have a huge opportunity to grow their enterprise and commercial offer. Hemel Garden Communities will take the best of the existing new town and have a transformational impact on the place with over 11,000 homes and creating 10,000 jobs. The Hertfordshire Innovation Quarter will be at its heart. As the town centre is developed and repurposed, reflecting changes in shopping habits and the pandemic legacy, there is a wonderful chance to create shared work space, studios and offices bringing business into town. Given that people want more affordable, non-city dependent work options where accessibility to countryside, as well as London is possible must place Hemel Hempstead in a great position to be the place for business and commerce.

Next Steps

The Council is committed to a placeshaping approach. We will work with partners and the community on an action plan focusing on the five key priorities for delivery in the town centre. Some of these will be short-term experiments, which will improve public spaces and capitalise on the creative energy from the community to generate new uses and revenue for our town centre. We will ensure that the Vision for Hemel Hempstead Town Centre to be the heart of our town is included in our new Dacorum Local Plan and other strategic programmes.

We will work positively with landowners and investors on key opportunity sites and align our resources at the Council to deliver the Town Centre Vision in partnership. In the face of limited resources, we will seek to source additional funding from Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, Hertfordshire Innovation Quarter, Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), Section 106 or similar development-related sources. We will also target external funding opportunities including, but not limited to; central government funds, cultural grants, heritage and conservation funds, biodiversity and community funding, and other crowd funding initiatives. Future funding streams may also emerge, and the existence of the Hemel Hempstead Town Centre Vision and partnership approach will allow swift action to secure funding support.