Site Location & Character
Woollam Park is located immediately adjacent to the northern fringe of St Albans, the principal settlement in the District, which benefits from an extensive range of services and facilities.
A range of services are conveniently located close to Woollam Park. Nearby is the existing community of New Greens with its established local infrastructure, Porters Wood Employment Site, and Woollam Playing Fields.
Most of the Site is in arable use, save for an area of playing fields used by the Old Albanians Sports Association for rugby and cricket, These pitches will be re-provided on immediately adjacent land. The arable land is divided into several irregular fields defined by hedgerows and trees.
The Site is well contained to the south by the existing urban edge of the city, in particular St Albans Girls’ School and Porters Wood Industrial Estate. The southern boundary is formed by Longspring Wood which is an ancient woodland. A public right of way runs through this woodland and along the edge of the railway and a permissive path has been formed along its southern edge. To the north are further arable fields and the St Albans School playing fields, to the west are existing houses fronting Harpenden Road. The eastern edge is contained by the mainline railway.
Sewell Park, the part of the allocation with existing outline consent, separates the Site’s western boundary from the existing residential properties along Harpenden Road and the Texaco filling station. Sandridgebury Lane runs southwest to northeast through the site.
The city centre itself is only three kilometres from the site. Harpenden Road is a key transport corridor between the city centre, the northern suburbs and Harpenden itself.
