Thank you to everyone who participated in our responsible renewable energy events over the past few months.
Following our charrette in September 2025, we held a drop-in exhibition at the Old Palace at Hatfield Park Estate in February 2026 to discuss the findings of the independent landscape appraisals undertaken across our three landholdings at Essendon, Newgate Street and South Mimms. The event led to some engaging discussions, and we really value all the input and feedback received to help us understand the key issues as understood by the community.
Gascoyne Estates has a long-standing commitment to open and transparent dialogue. This renewable energy programme is the latest of nine similar consultation exercises conducted over the past 20 years, ranging from new homes to town centre regeneration. We believe that by adopting a collaborative approach, we can better determine which projects are progressed, where they should go, how they might look and what additional benefits they could bring.
Any future proposals which may come forward will be informed by the conversations to date, as well as an understanding of the issues raised around other proposals in the vicinity
Thursday 26th February
4:00pm – 8:00pm
The Old Palace
AL9 5HX
Please RSVP to charrette@gascoyne.org
Thank you to everyone that attended our renewable energy charrettes on the 23rd and 30th September at Cuffley Camp. We welcomed the input and engagement in the discussions, presentations and workshops to understand the key issues as understood by the community on landscape, food security, biodiversity and community benefits among others.
Gascoyne Estates has a history of open and transparent discussions with its communities around all types of development opportunities, from new homes to town centre regeneration. We believe that by adopting a collaborative approach we can better understand which projects are progressed, where they should go, how they might look and what additional benefits they could bring.
A post-charrette paper will be published in the coming weeks which will provide an overview of the key themes that emerged in the discussions and workshops over the two events, in addition to summarising Gascoyne Estates reflections and attempt to understand the implications of the feedback received.
We’d like to take the opportunity to reiterate that Gascoyne Estates are not consulting on a specific project or proposal. The purpose of the charrettes was to understand the community's priorities and considerations when considering
renewable energy. Any future proposal which may come forward will be informed by the feedback gathered, as well as an understanding of the issues raised around other proposals in the vicinity.
If you have any further questions, please contact the charrette team on charrette@gascoyne.org.
Take a look at our recent Charrette on the 23rd September 2025.
Gascoyne Estates is frequently contacted by renewable energy developers proposing projects on our holdings in Hertfordshire. We acknowledge the need to produce green electricity locally, and we believe that proper public debate and engagement is the best way to achieve positive outcomes for local communities, the estate and wider society.
To that end, Gascoyne is hosting a public meeting at Cuffley Camp to discuss the key issues and gather feedback from the community. At this point there are no specific sites in question – we have not signed any contracts or planned a project in detail. Instead, we are seeking to understand the opportunities and constraints, asking the questions:
What role does a long-term landowner have in the energy transition?
How do we ensure that projects are delivered to a high standard?
Gascoyne Estates has a history of open and transparent discussions with its communities around all types of development opportunities, from new homes to town centre regeneration. We believe that by adopting a collaborative approach we can better understand which projects are progressed, where they should go, how they might look and what additional benefits they could bring.
As such, 12,000 households neighbouring our holdings at South Mimms, Newgate Street and Essendon have been invited via a leaflet drop to take part in our charrettes on the 23rd and 30th September. Our intention is to be able to represent the views of the community fairly and accurately in any future discussion we may have with a renewable energy developer.
No, we are not consulting on a specific project or proposal. The purpose of the charrette is to understand the key issues as understood by the community on landscape, food security, biodiversity and community benefits among others.
Any future proposal which may come forward will be informed by the feedback gathered.
We understand that some may not be able to join, therefore we will be producing a post-charrette paper which will be shared following the event. This way the key lessons from the events are captured and those who were unable to attend are able to review the findings.
