About the site
Where is the development site?
The parcel of land that has been sold by Oaklands College to Taylor Wimpey lies to the north of the campus, and has been outlined in the draft local plan, due to its sustainable location and potential to benefit Oaklands College and its community as part of the redevelopment plans. The new homes will lie adjacent to the Oaklands Grange site, which Taylor Wimpey built after receiving planning permission in 2017.
Site location
Responding to the emerging Local Plan
St. Albans’ emerging local plan (2024) refers to an allocated site for housing adjacent to Oaklands College, that is not within the green belt boundaries.
This site is allocated due to its sustainable location and potential to benefit Oaklands College as part of the plans.
The consultation on the draft local Plan for St Albans City and District Council has just closed, following comments and further decisions, the Draft Local Plan was submitted to the Secretary of State for its examination in public process.
This can be seen in the red line boundary image.
About the developer
Partnering with Taylor Wimpey
To fund this redevelopment, Oaklands has partnered with Taylor Wimpey, who will bring forward plans for new homes on part of the site. These homes align with St Albans’ local plan and will provide high quality housing while enabling vital investment in education.
This team operate exclusively in Hertfordshire and the North London Boroughs, with a proud history of delivering high quality sustainable new communities. Taylor Wimpey proudly works to deliver industry leading sustainable technologies within their developments and support biodiversity integration through a wide array of design solutions. They represent the ideal partner to help deliver our vision.
The future planning application will be supported by technical assessments that will include mitigation strategies to minimise impacts on the local environment and the local community.
Case study
Oaklands Grange
- In 2016, Oaklands College sold some College land to a development partner, Taylor Wimpey, with the aim of creating funding for College developments.
- In 2017 Taylor Wimpey gained permission to develop Oaklands Grange, to the north of the site.
- The site created 384 homes for local people, which included 35% affordable housing.
- It was because of this development that Oaklands College was able to fund the redevelopment of the College in recent years. This has included enhancements to existing buildings and 16,211m2 of new educational buildings, such as the student accommodation and sports pavilion. Approval was granted on the basis the significant educational benefits and much needed housing would outweigh the harm to the Green Belt.
