Hightown Housing Association recently hosted a bricklaying ceremony to celebrate the ‘golden brick’ stage in the construction of 128 new affordable homes in Welwyn Garden City.
Located on Broadwater Road, this is Hightown’s largest development in Welwyn Garden City and is being built by the contractor Hill Group. The new homes will consist of 51 one-bedroom flats and 77 two-bedroom flats. Around 20% of these homes will be wheelchair accessible.
The development is located within close proximity of the town centre, as well as being close to the train station and other transport links. The architecture will be in keeping with other buildings in the local area, such as John Lewis and the Council Office, with red brick and tall windows. Included in the plans is a central communal green space for residents to enjoy as well as car, motorcycle and bicycle parking.
Andrew Lewin, MP for Welwyn Hatfield, Cllr Gemma Moore, Executive Member for Housing at Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council and Frank Marsh, Mayor of Welwyn Hatfield, were in attendance alongside David Bogle, Chief Executive of Hightown, Qadeer Kiani, Chair of Hightown’s Board and Hill Group’s Regional Director, Rob Jack. Other attendees included staff from Hightown and Hill Group, as well as Welwyn Hatfield councillors.
Built on the site of a former office building for Roche, a pharmaceutical company, construction began in September 2024 and is due to complete in December 2026.
David Bogle, Chief Executive of Hightown, said: “It’s great to see the progress of our largest development in Welwyn Hatfield and we’re pleased to be working with Hill Group on delivering much needed affordable housing for local people. It’s vital that we continue to build safe, affordable and energy efficient homes to help tackle the housing crisis.”
Andrew Lewin MP, said: “There are thousands of local people on the social housing waiting list in Welwyn Hatfield and it’s urgent we build more social and affordable homes. It was fantastic to meet with the teams from Hightown and Hill who are working at speed to build these homes for rent. The government has rightly set local and national targets for building and it is developments like this that will help us to meet those ambitions and give more local people in Welwyn Garden City a high quality new home.”
Robert Jack, Regional Director of Hill Group, added: “Reaching the ‘golden brick’ stage of this much needed affordable housing marks a pivotal moment in the construction of this significant development for Welwyn Garden City. Hill has a strong partnership with Hightown and Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council and this project not only creates vital homes for the community, but also new communal spaces for residents to enjoy. This design here includes a fabric first approach for energy saving which is coupled with air source heat pump technology and grey water recycling for every home. We are on track and look forward to completing this project in December 2026.”
