Eight Gardens: adding 75 more flats recommended for approval

Ahead of consideration at a meeting of Watford Borough Council’s development management committee on June 4, planning officers have given their verdict on proposed amendments to the existing planning permission.

The report, published this afternoon (May 28), suggests that the additional homes for the in-progress Eight Gardens scheme, off St Albans Road, are “welcomed in contributing towards the borough’s housing supply”.

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“Overall, these latest proposals will maintain a high-quality design, which optimises the site,” it added.

“These amendments have been sensitively undertaken within the context of the approved permission and broadly reflect the parameters and design principles established under the original 2020 permission.”

Berkeley Homes submitted its proposed variations, which allowed for 1,214 residential units across 11 buildings - including towers of 28, 24, and 22 storeys, in November last year.

A CGI giving a bird's eye view of the development as originally proposed. (Image: Berkeley Homes)

It wants to add six new floors to the building known as N3 and two more to N4 and add a second stair core to four blocks.

The developer said that it needs to include another stair core in the buildings because government fire safety regulations will likely soon require two staircases in new towers above 18 metres.

It added that the increased costs of providing the second stair core for each building, the loss of floorspace, and “general and significant” increases in construction costs have made adding more storeys necessary to re-provide lost space and off-set cost increases.

There are also 231 extra balconies proposed as part of the application, because the last four years have apparently shown the importance of “private external amenity space”.

The Eight Gardens development in February this year. (Image: Newsquest)

However, some residents who were already concerned about more than 1,000 new homes being added to the busy area blamed "greed" and branded the idea "laughable".

There have been 34 objections to the application.

While officers can make a recommendation, the decision is ultimately down to the councillors on the committee to make next Tuesday.

However, if officers made a recommendation based on the planning policy guidance, then a rejection by councillors is more likely to lead to the council losing a potential appeal.