Croxley Rail Link Environmental Statement 5 Existing environment 5.1 The proposed scheme corridor 5.1.1 The location of the proposed scheme relative to central and west Watford is shown in Figure 5.1. It extends from Croxley Green on the western fringe of Watford and follows an alignment between areas of industrial, commercial and housing development as it approaches Watford Junction on the eastern edge of the town centre. 5.1.2 The western end of the corridor is marked by the heavily wooded embankments of the existing Metropolitan Line where it is bridged over Baldwins Lane. East of the existing line, the A412 and closely aligned Grand Union Canal and River Gade and associated belts of woodland, frame areas of mixed use and activity. These include housing, a restaurant and public house, light industrial storage areas, an area of public open space which houses the Cassiobridge play area and a marina at the Bridgewater Basin on the canal. 5.1.3 Cassiobury Park, an extensive Registered Park and Garden, is located immediately north of the Metropolitan Line and its terminal at Watford Metropolitan Station. To the south there is a mix of light industrial and commercial development at the Croxley Business Park. 5.1.4 Crossing the Ascot Road dual carriageway and old Ascot Road, the presence of the disused rail link is marked by the distinctive lattice form of the Beggars Bush Bridge as it spans the canal and river. 5.1.5 The corridor continues east as a tree and scrub-lined boundary within the townscape. It separates areas of early, mid and late 20 th century housing and communal facilities punctuated by open space and amenity land. 5.1.6 To the north, immediate neighbours include the recent studio-styled Gateway development. There are light industrial units, workshops and small businesses in the vicinity of Tolpits Lane set within an area of mid to late 20 th century housing. Harwoods Recreation Ground and Laurance Haines School are located immediately west and east of Vicarage Road. To the north of this sequence of use there are areas of dense Victorian and Edwardian housing in West Watford. 5.1.7 To the south there is a sequence of larger-scale, less densely developed use. West to east this includes Watford Community Technology College and associated recreational fields, through to mid and late 20 th century housing set within areas of extensive amenity grassland. The Holywell Farm Allotments west of Vicarage Road mark a break in the housing which continues in the form of two and three story blocks of flats and houses set around courts as far as the western margin of the River Colne Valley. Existing Environment © Mouchel 2011 5-1 Croxley Rail Link Environmental Statement 5.1.8 Curving to the north east, the corridor enters the open valley of the River Colne passing a locally substantial area of woodland which extends to Ireland Street and Cardiff Road. To the south of the corridor there is the Lairage Lands Local Nature Reserve, the south eastern boundary of which is marked by the Ebury Way Sustrans Cycle Route as it follows the line of a former railway line linking Watford and Rickmansworth. 5.1.9 The corridor crosses a northern channel of the river twice before leaving the open valley and running between terraced housing on Cardiff Road and the Fisher Industrial Estate. The skyline to the north west of the corridor as it enters and leaves the valley is marked by the large-scale Watford General Hospital and Watford FC’s Vicarage Road Stadium. The residential area of Oxhey is located to the south east. 5.1.10 At Wiggenhall Road, the corridor merges with the existing Euston to Watford Overground line, passing Watford Grammar School for Girls and continuing to Watford High Street Station, a locally listed building. 5.1.11 The existing line then curves to the north passing the Waterfields Shopping Park to the east and Harlequin Shopping Centre to the west and running between Waterfields Recreation Ground and terraces of housing on Gladstone Road as it approaches Watford Junction Station. 5.2 Environmental resources 5.2.1 Notable environmental resources associated with the proposed scheme corridor and surrounding area are shown in Figure 5.1 and include: • Three strategic green infrastructure corridors in the form of the Grand Union Canal, the River Gade and the River Colne • Cassiobury Park • Public Open Space (POS) in the form of the Cassiobridge POS and Harwoods Recreation Ground • Allotment land at Holywell and Brightwell • The Colne Valley Linear Park • Croxley Moor Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) • Lairage Lands Local Nature Reserve (LNR) • The Ebury Way Cycle Route • A primary Source Protection Zone (SPZ) which underlies the proposed scheme corridor and the area extending to the south Existing Environment © Mouchel 2011 5-2 .