Station Details

Hatfield (Herts)

Station NameHatfield (Herts)
Station CodeHAT
Station OwnerGovia Thameslink Railway (Great Northern)
Developable Area37.01ha
Development Capacity2,776 homes (at 75dph)
Local Planning AuthorityWelwyn Hatfield
2021 Housing Delivery Test - Homes Required2,244
2021 Housing Delivery Test - Homes Delivered1,488
2021 Housing Delivery Test - Score66%
2021 Housing Delivery Test - ConsequencePresumption
Green BeltLondon
Green Belt Area37.01ha ( 100% of the potential development area)
Network Rail RegionEast of England
Network Rail Sub-RegionBedfordshire and Hertfordshire
Passengers, 2020 - 2021590,730
Passengers, 2019 - 20202,339,604
UK Station Passenger Rank (Use)254

Development Potential

England's busiest station (apart from those serving airports) had 4,170,558 passenger movements in the period 2019-2020. The station with the least was 68. Hatfield (Herts) station had 2,339,604 passengers enter or exit it during this period. That's roughly 6,427 people per day.

For a station with this number of passengers passing through it each year a density of 75 homes per hectare is reasonable, based on its proximity to major population centres and existing infrastructure.

Hatfield (Herts) is located within the East of England railway region. The potential area for development around the station (excluding existing buildings, national parks, flood zones, public green space, protected habitats, areas of outstanding natural beauty, world heritage sites and surface water) is approximately 37.01ha.

Assuming an appropriate (but not prevailing) development density of 75 dwellings per hectare, this area has a development capacity of around 2,776 homes.

The station sits within Welwyn Hatfield planning authority, which in 2021 achieved a Housing Delivery Test Score of 66%, having delivered 1,488 homes from a target of 2,244. As a result of this score, the authority is subject to a 'presumption in favour of sustainable development', according to the NPPF.

The total capacity of all Welwyn Hatfield's stations is 17,313 homes. That's 772% of its total 2021 Housing Delivery Test requirement.

Taking green belt into account, the capacity of Welwyn Hatfield's stations is 601 homes without building on protected land. That's 27% of its total 2021 Housing Delivery Test requirement.