A pair of planning applications could see an office building become flats and gain another floor.

The vacant office building at 113 Cecil Road, Watford, has been out of use since January 2021 according to a letter attached to an application submitted to Watford Borough Council yesterday (September 20).

The proposal seeks to turn the single office building into three homes while another proposal, submitted the day before by the same applicant, looks to add another floor and make further external changes without changing the use class.

Watford Observer: 113 Cecil Street.113 Cecil Street. (Image: Google Street View)

The Watford Observer understands that there are three possibilities for the building: it could stay the same size and become residential, become larger offices, or become a larger residential site.

Watford Observer: The building includes a rear extension area which is included in the plans but is not proposed to be expanded upwards.The building includes a rear extension area which is included in the plans but is not proposed to be expanded upwards. (Image: Google Street View/Canva)

Exactly what does happen depends on what the applicant is able to get approved and this is why the plans were submitted separately.

The third option, expanding the building and changing its use to residential, would require a further application and the two plans both getting approval would not be enough on its own, the applicant explained.

The office building is within a largely residential street and the neighbouring buildings are taller than it. However, there are other similarly sized commercial buildings nearby.