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    Berkhamsted High St/Water Lane redevelopment

    Ecology

         While the site is being comprehensively reconstructed there is a golden opportunity to incorporate advanced ecological concepts into the design. Shops, restaurants and supermarkets have large carbon footprints, largely because of refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat loss through the doors. The inclusion of  water harvesting, solar heating, heat from the ground and other forms of micro-generation measures on site would help to offset the increased energy demands of the development and could be included at comparatively low cost in such a radical rebuild.
        Another opportunity that should not be missed is bringing the infrastructure up to modern standards. The sewers in particular are old and becoming less adequate as demand increases.

    Shops in a pedestrianised Water Lane

        These shops are smaller than two of the ones they replace, Waterstones (No longer Ottakers) bookshop and Laura Ashley which will thus be lost to the town. Water Lane will be a second rank shopping area such as Lower Kings Road and will attract the same type of shop. These by, their nature, tend to be marginally profitable and transient.
        This is not the time or place to build high rent small shops.
     
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         High Street shops near Water Lane