Aldenham Reservoir ownership and public access explained
1970
The reservoir’s original purpose was to top up the River Colne. By 1970, the reservoir had long since ceased to be used to top up the River Colne, and as far as British Waterways was concerned it had become an unwelcome liability.
1973
Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) owned the land to the north and east of the reservoir and the council, as part of this development took out a 42 year lease on the reservoir, after British Waterways had completed some urgent repairs to the dam, in order to preserve it for public enjoyment. Dam maintenance was part of the lease.
This far-sighted council decided to use some of this land to develop a recreational amenity in the form of a country park. The council laid out the car park, nature trail and Winnie the Pooh’s 100 Aker Wood, built an adventure playground, refreshment kiosk, toilets and warden’s house, and created a rare breeds farm, with herds of Bagot goats, English longhorn cattle, a family of shire horses, and various varieties of sheep, pigs and poultry, all of which were open to the public free of charge. It became extremely popular, drawing visitors from miles around.
1992
British Waterways decided to dispose of the reservoir without much local publicity and sold it in an auction. The Hertfordshire County Council did not wish to own it at this time. This is when the reservoir and surrounding land was acquired by Safari Investments, with the council’s 42yr lease still on-going.
1998
The council undertook some major strengthening works to the reservoir in the form of the sheet piling at the eastern end. But the council never owned the reservoir itself, and the concrete posts around the edge mark the boundary between council land and reservoir land.
2010/2011
Times change, councillors come and go, and a very different-minded Hertfordshire County Council leadership decided that in an age of austerity it no longer wanted to be in the business of running recreational services. So, it put the management of the country park out to competitive tender and Aldenham Renaissance took a 30-year lease from 2012 and have monetised all the amenities at the park.
HCC had decided that they would not be renewing their lease of the reservoir as from previous investigations into the liability of the dam, they were aware the reservoir may be completely drained or water lowered to remove pressure.
2011/2012
Safari advisors, Liberty attended a Hertsmere Borough Council meeting with Councillor Morris Bright to explore possibilities for the Reservoir where he had suggested turning the Reservoir into a fantastic leisure destination for the Community.
2014
Safari commissioned a report from a firm of consulting engineers on the condition of the dam. This recommended some immediate repairs but to ensure the longer-term future of the dam, it recommended either major reconstruction costing £1.5 million or its complete replacement at a figure revised to £3,350,000.
Early 2015
The Hertfordshire County Council’s lease of the reservoir expired and as per the same reasons above and likely due to the high impending costs to repair the dam, deemed they no longer wished to renew their lease of the reservoir to maintain public access. It is worth noting that no income from the Aldenham Country Park supports the maintenance or upkeep of the reservoir.
On the expiry of the lease HCC and Aldenham Renaissance falsely continued to use the reservoir in all communications promoting Aldenham Country Park, misleading the public to believe they were one thing when in fact the two are separately owned and financed.
Mid 2015
Safari, with no lease from the council or income from the adjoining country park, submitted a planning application to Hertsmere Borough council for building up to 150 houses on the field next to the Mere, using the case that the need to raise the funds required to fix the dam (which would come from the proceeds of this development) constituted the “very special circumstances” needed to justify the release of this land from its green belt status. The full planning proposal including supporting documents, public engagement and site plans are all available for public viewing.
Oct 2015
The council commissioned its own engineering report, from a different firm, which concluded that there was no current requirement for any capital works to be undertaken, and that while it is possible that further settlement of the embankment may result in the need for further remedial works in the long term, it was not considered that a complete rebuilding of the dam would be a viable option. They also caveated their conclusion with: ‘As with any embankment dam we cannot rule out the need for major works either in the medium or long term. The need for major works will be dependent on the future performance of the dam’.
Late 2015
Safari withdrew this application before it could be determined by the council and offered the reservoir for sale to various local groups and authorities including Aldenham Sailing Club and the councils, none of which was willing to bid for it or take on any liability. In the event it was taken over by Safari’s local advisors, Liberty Lake Leisure Ltd.
2016
Liberty Lake Leisure Ltd, since the county council’s lease expired at the end of 2015, have been responsible for the reservoir’s upkeep. They resubmitted the application for housing, with an undertaking to establish a community interest company, to be funded out of the proceeds, which would own and maintain the reservoir in perpetuity.
2016 PLANNING APPLICATION
There was also a whole host of improvements that would have been undertaken to make this a premier destination in Hertfordshire. But this was rejected by the council’s planning committee in October 2016 where again the situation was not deemed to have ‘very special circumstances’. This application had an overwhelming 600 plus letters of support from members of the public and environmental groups all in favour of releasing the green belt land to preserve the reservoir.
2019
Last year Liberty Lake Leisure Ltd came forward with a new opportunity, involving the creation of what was described as a “Nature Retreat” along the eastern shore between Reservoir House and The Fishery. Engaging top environmental specialist consultants LUC Planning and Tate Harmer (famed for working on The Eden Project, Kew Gardens and with The National Trust), this latest application for log cabins on one side of the Reservoir would have generated enough revenue to keep the whole reservoir open (including the sailing club) and would have generated reserves for the longer term with an investment of millions. Hertsmere’s planning officers recommended refusal of the planning application stating that the proposal would amount to inappropriate development in the Green Belt and a case of ‘very special circumstances’ does not exist to outweigh this identified harm.
2019 PLANNING APPLICATION
The application was therefore withdrawn, causing the current state of uncertainty.
The Council Tree Officer without engaging with Liberty’s consultants LUC considered it appropriate to impose a tree preservation order on the whole of the land surrounding the reservoir in Liberty’s ownership which was confirmed by the Planning Committee in June 2020. Despite numerous documents within the planning application to the contrary from Liberty including a Design and Access statement, Arboriculture Impact assessment, Ecological appraisal, Site Wide Landscape report and Site Wide Landscaping plan all stating there was NO threat to the number of trees and Liberty had, themselves, already planted over 50 trees in the area itself.
Early 2020
Liberty, taking the advice of its Dam Supervisor and Inspector (who reports directly to the Environment Agency), lowered the water in the reservoir by 1m to reduce pressure on the dam. Liberty at the time wrote to Oliver Dowden MP explaining their actions. With this lowered water level, Aldenham Sailing Club claimed it would be unsafe to continue to operate from the reservoir, ending their 80-year relationship with the site. The council had already deemed a new and improved home for the sailing club (as proposed within Liberty’s scheme) not a ‘Very Special Circumstance’ when reviewing Liberty’s proposal.
June 2020
The Council have asked Liberty to resubmit revised plans at a 50% meeting discount. Liberty had already spent over £600,000 in fees for consultants, surveyors, architects, landscapists and others, to create the best possible scenario for all parties involved including the public, woodland and wildlife. Having entirely self-funded these proposals and then met with Hertsmere Borough Council recommending Liberty’s application be refused on grounds that they not deem the survival of the reservoir to be cause for ‘Very Special Circumstance’, Liberty is naturally reluctant to discuss new plans incurring huge further costs.
July 2020
Unable to sustain the on-going costs of maintaining the reservoir for any longer, Liberty have unfortunately had to close one half of the circular walk around the reservoir. Preventing suffering further costs and liability associated with public safety, littering and security on the private land. Many members of the public had been ignoring the safety signs requesting people stick to the footpath and have been caught in the slurry and the continuous littering is harmful to the environment and precious wildlife. Visitors can still access the Reservoir Walk on the 2km long public footpath through Aldenham Country Park’s main entrance, but the circular route will be closed until further notice, pending Liberty’s ability to generate enough income to protect the reservoir and once again open it to the public. Read more here
History of Aldenham Reservoir by John Cartledge
“whenever the river fell below a certain level, the canal company had to top it up again. In order to do that, it had to have a store of water available. And that’s what the reservoir was for.”
Read the full version of John Cartledg’e History of Aldenham Reservoir - The First 225 years.
How you can help
Take action today
Aldenham Country Park and Aldenham Reservoir are owned by two different entities. We will continue to own Aldenham Reservoir and without the necessary funding, regretfully, we cannot keep it open safely and at an acceptable standard for the public.
When we took on Aldenham Reservoir, our dream was for it to be a natural treasure, enjoyed by the local community for generations to come.
We hope that Hertfordshire County Council and Hertsmere Borough Council will engage in this conversation to see if we can find a way to keep this vision alive.
You can lobby your local Councillors at Hertfordshire County Council, Hertsmere Borough Council.
See the proposals for yourself
2016 Proposal
The 2016 plans proposed releasing local green belt land in order to build 150 homes, generating enough income to protect the reservoir for generations to come by creating a Community Trust. The full planning application and accompanying documents are all available for the public here.
2019 Proposal
The 2019 plans including revamping the land around the reservoir, creating cycling paths, more accessible trails, improving the sailing club headquarters and introducing 50 eco-friendly pods for staycations. This is also available for public here.