Bushey Hall Golf Club put forward as site for football stadium

Hertsmere Borough Council has officially been notified by the owners of a proposal which could see Bushey Hall Golf Club dramatically redeveloped over the coming years.

Last year, the Observer reported that Watford FC had begun talks with the council about a potential stadium move to Bushey, but were told by a club source Watford was just "scoping out the opportunity".

Relegation to the Championship appeared to have put any talk of a stadium move on hold; however the owners of Bushey Hall appear open to the prospect of welcoming the Hornets to Bushey.

In a virtual public meeting this morning, members of the council's planning panel were informed of 21 new employment sites recently put forward by landowners in Hertsmere as part of the council’s emerging local plan, which will shape development in the borough up until 2036.

One of these 21 sites was Bushey Hall Golf Club – with proposals of two phases over 40 hectares of land put forward by owners Veladail Leisure Ltd.

This slide was presented to councillors this morning. It shows Bushey Hall Golf Club, and at the bottom two proposals, as part of Hertsmere Borough Council's latest call for sites for employment for its local plan

The first phase outlined would be for a clubhouse, care home, five and seven-a-side football pitches, and a nine-hole golf course.

The second phase would involve a 30,000 capacity football stadium, club shop, offices, arena, hotel, cinema, restaurant, and recreation facilities.

The site, officially put forward by HGH Consulting on behalf of Veladail, lists Watford FC as the proposed occupier.

Watford FC were approached for a comment on the proposals put forward by Veladail but declined to comment.

Despite the submission from Veladail, there is no guarantee that Bushey Hall Golf Club will be taken forward in Hertsmere’s local plan, due to be published later this spring, nor that a new stadium will ever be built there, or that Watford will even leave Vicarage Road.

More than 5,000 people signed a petition, started by the Bushey Conservatives last year, calling for Watford to be "given the red card" to move to Bushey, after potential stadium designs drawn up by an architect firm, were leaked online.

Screenshot from an online petition launched against the idea of Watford moving to Bushey

Local councillors from both the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties also worked or campaigned to introduce a tree preservation order for Bushey Hall Golf Club, which was granted by the council in January.

Bushey Lib Dem councillor Paul Richards, who wrote to the owners of Watford FC last year to "express his deepest concern" about Watford moving to Bushey, was present in today's member meeting.

He told the Observer afterwards: "We will continue to resist any attempt of the development of Bushey Hall Golf Course and are very concerned to hear that Veladail have submitted the land following the recent call for employment sites.

"We call on council officers to heed residents' feedback on the complete inpracticality of any move by Watford FC to the site and reaffirm the greenbelt status of the course."

Bushey Hall, one of Hertfordshire's oldest courses, closed as an 18 hole golf course in 2019, with the clubhouse being demolished and redeveloped into 32 flats.