Plans for 36 flats near large Watford Tesco refused

At a meeting on Tuesday, February 7, councillors voted to refuse planning permission for the six-storey project in Lower High Street, near the Tesco Extra supermarket.

A decision report by Watford Borough Council sets out the four grounds for refusing the application, which include the plan’s failure to “successfully transition with or relate to the surrounding local context”.

It adds residents of the proposed homes would suffer from poor internal daylight levels, and that “by virtue of its scale and massing”, it would overshadow a neighbouring residential building at Crosfield Court.

The developer claimed the building would “significantly improve” the street and public realm with a “creative and vibrant” design.

A vacant office block in Watford's Lower High Street which a developer had hoped to turn into flats. (Image: Google Earth)

Speaking at the meeting, councillor Jennifer Pattinson (LD, Meriden) said: “We do want more accommodation in Watford.

“I know the housing list and the desperate need for accommodation, but it has to be high quality with good light, and as affordable as possible.”

Cllr Sara-Jane Trebar (Lab, Vicarage) said: “This is an area I know very well.

“It’s a really cute little street with terraced houses and a narrow road.

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“It does get flooding and there are many times we can’t actually get around there.

“For me it’s the scale and the design, and it doesn’t take into account the surroundings.

“You walk around past Crosfield Court, coming around that residential area into a little terraced street, so to have that large development smacking you in the face doesn’t work for me at all.”

As part of the proposals, the developer submitted a viability assessment which argued “there is no justification for any request for a contribution towards affordable housing”.

A rejected proposal for new flats in Lower High Street, Watford. (Image: Benchmark Architects/Watford)

Council staff, who ultimately recommended councillors turn down the proposals, said the assessment demonstrated the proposal cannot viably include affordable units.

Local planning policies set out that 35 per cent of homes should be affordable if the project features 10 more homes – including this one – except where there are “exceptional” circumstances.

Cllr Rabi Martins (LD, Central): “Lack of affordable housing is really something I find very annoying, especially when developers use ‘viability’ as a way of not providing it.

“We want to create inclusive communities.

“That means providing a combination of housing which is affordable to all people, and by not insisting on affordable housing, we are doing our residents a disservice.

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“I’m not prepared to back that.”

A spokesperson from Benchmark Architects, speaking at the meeting on behalf of the applicant, said: “Our client has engaged in a number of applications on this site over the years to try and find a suitable way to bring forward a housing scheme.

“We paid close attention to those applications and tried to resolve those technical matters through the course of our own application.

“The proposals have been through a consultation and there aren’t any technical objections.

“The things which have been raised are design matters.

“We had hoped to work with officers to find a recommendation for approval and the right solution, but unfortunately that’s not the case today.”

The spokesperson said the existing, vacant building “offers little in the way of public benefit to the street”.

He added: “We did look at converting the existing building but we’re keen to bring a full application forward to control the quality and standard of the design.”

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