York Way businesses have complained of endless problems long before the latest flats crisis put "another nail in the coffin". But how did we get here?

Ever since a planned £36 million regeneration involving more than 100 new homes for the Meriden estate was green lit in 2015, the most contentious area has been the York Way parade of shops.

Construction company Mulalley and Co was appointed to carry out the plans in 2018. These included 131 homes for affordable or social rent, a 50-bed extra care facility for elderly people, retail space, green space, and two homes for shared ownership.

Watford Observer: Meriden Regeneration Project CGI from when it was proposed.Meriden Regeneration Project CGI from when it was proposed.

A retail parade in York Way replaced the former parade in The Gossamers, which was demolished for homes and a car park as part of the project. Meanwhile Cygnet House and Plover House were set to provide housing across 23 apartments above the shops, made up of four one-bedrooms and nineteen two-bedrooms.

It was initially announced that no stores moving across would need to close because the new units would be ready before the old ones needed to be vacated.

However, although the retail units and homes were completed on schedule in 2021, delays finalising the move resulted in months-long closures for some businesses.

Watford Observer: The shop units in The Gossamers, before demolition.The shop units in The Gossamers, before demolition.

Openings were staggered in the end, with Co-op opening smoothly and on schedule in 2021, while others such as the Meriden Fish Bar - which has operated for decades and only reopened in June 2022 - taking longer.

The retail units' occupiers say that a major issue then reared its head in the form of parking. Without parking bays outside the shops, as there had been in The Gossamers, customers struggled to access stores.

Watford Observer: One extreme example of dangerous parking in York Way in 2023. One extreme example of dangerous parking in York Way in 2023. (Image: Contribution)

This led to illegal parking on pavements which was labelled “dangerous” and taken all the way to parliament by Watford MP Dean Russell.

Owners told the Watford Observer that they feared being put out of business due to issues with their units, particularly around parking, in early 2023.

It was not until June 19 that year that a temporary car park, accessed via The Turnstones, was opened.

More recently, surveys of the building have been taking place and on Friday (February 9), Watford Community Housing(WCH) said it had received a detailed report from its building contractor’s engineers stating that Cygnet House and Plover House have structural defects.

This means residents will have to move out by the end of this week as intrusive remediation works could go on for 12 months.

Watford Observer: Cygnet House.Cygnet House. (Image: Battal Ustek)

WCH has confirmed temporary accommodation, such as hotels, will be paid for. This arrangement could last for up to six weeks and then longer-term accommodation will be arranged.

Meanwhile, businesses have received a letter today (February 13) letting them know that, while it is completely safe to keep trading, full inspections starting on February 19 could reveal that necessary works may impact their business.

The defects only affect the upper floors of the building, according to WCH’s contractor’s engineers, but at least some remediation works are expected to be needed “throughout the whole structure”.

Even if they can stay open throughout, they fear customers may have reservations about entering the building and the loss of business from those upstairs could hinder demand.