Developer loses Sun Clock Tower legal battle with Watford Borough Council

Stuart Taylor, who has began work on a project to renovate the building and convert it into offices, said he may need to look at "other options" for the land.

The developer said the project had stalled after a judge ruled against him in a dispute over part of the land on the plot around the clock tower which is owned by the council.

Last month Watford Borough Council won a court case forcing Mr Taylor to remove a hording from the part of the site that covers its land.

Throughout the case Mr Taylor argued he needed the whole of the site around clock tower for a car park to make the office scheme viable.

He said: "I am a worried man. I have invested a lot of money in this, it’s not money that has just dropped out of the sky.

"Meanwhile we have not been able to do any work on it. I have borrowed and that’s costing me thousands a month.

"At the moment I am pulling my hair out. I am sinking and I don’t know what to do. I was the saviour of the clock tower, I have really tried.

"I have got to look at other options. I need to think about what I need to do. I can’t understand the logic of the council. They should be working with the likes of me."

The clock tower was built in the 1930s as a water pump for the Sun Printers and is locally listed.

However in recent years the building has fallen into disrepair and been repeatedly vandalised.

The planning permission for the clock tower redevelopment was gained from Watford Borough Council in 2009 by another developer who sold it onto Mr Taylor.

At the time the permission was granted for the use of the whole site including the council’s land. However Watford Borough Council said no approach was made in the intervening time by any developer to purchase its small parcel on the site.

Since the court case the council said its part of the site has now been earmarked for use in the construction of the Ascot Road Metropolitan Line station, which is part of the Croxley Rail Link.

Mark Jeffery, a spokesman for the council, said: "We are pleased that in November the court found in our favour and granted the injunction. The court also allowed us our costs. The amount of costs we could reclaim against Mr Taylor are yet to be set.

"We made all efforts to resolve this issue by corresponding with Mr Taylor and his legal advisors, giving them sufficient time and opportunity to avoid court proceedings and escalating costs on both sides.

"The council’s position has been clear from the outset. We do not want our land to be trespassed on and have never given consent for the owner of the clock tower to use our land as part of his separate development project. Our land has been earmarked for use for the purposes of the Croxley Rail project, which is economically important to the town and region."