Plans for homes at former Meriden School site approved

Planning permission has been granted for nine three-storey terraced homes where Meriden School on the Meriden estate once stood.

A planning officer at Watford Borough Council decided the scheme, to be accessed via The Meadows, would provide a “good quality of family accommodation”.

Granting permission, the officer added the homes would be “in keeping with the character and appearance of the area”.

There is no requirement for developments of less than 10 homes to provide affordable housing and it does not appear any affordable housing will be included.

A total of 18 car parking spaces will be provided and the homes will include front and back garden space.

The land where permission has been granted to build the homes

The application by Herts Living Ltd, a developer owned by Hertfordshire County Council, had drawn three objections, including from the neighbouring Meriden Surgery.

Dr Nikesh Mehta wrote in the planning portal that the plans would reduce the amount of light and privacy inside the surgery rooms, adding that Harvest End, where the surgery is situated, already suffers from “crowded” parking.

Other concerns raised included overdevelopment.

Meriden Surgery, pictured, is situated next door to the development site. Credit: Google Maps

Councillors on the Meriden estate had also launched a campaign to keep the land where the houses are proposed in community use. They cited a masterplan approved by the borough council in 2007.

After the county council’s cabinet agreed to “dispose” of – or sell – the land in May, Liberal Democrat county councillor Steve Cavinder successfully won a bid to get the matter reviewed, claiming the masterplan had been ignored.

Read more: Council told to re-examine Meriden School sale decision

However the county council – which owns the land – argues the masterplan has been “superseded” by Watford’s emerging local plan, which earmarked it for housing.

The land which the council is looking to sell off for development

Despite receiving planning approval, a definitive decision to dispose of the land still needs to be taken. It is due to be made at a county council cabinet meeting scheduled for today (Monday June 20).

Meriden Primary School closed in 2004, with part of the site later developed into the GP surgery.

The school's former playing fields are not included in the land the council is looking to sell off with no decision made about the future of that land.