Homes plan by Watford Junction station blocked by council

Vacant office space above recently opened dentist Junction Dental, in Station Road, would have been turned into five flats under a proposal submitted in May.

However, in its decision notice published yesterday (July 29), the borough council said the flats would harm the character of the area and would not meet the town’s housing needs, due to only including single-occupancy homes.

• Plans for five flats above new dental surgery
• New dentist opens next week 'to make care affordable and accessible'
• Junction Dental to open by Watford Junction next week

Officers also felt that the low ceilings as well as the lack of light, outlook, ventilation, amenity space, and accessibility would create “a very poor quality of accommodation”.

As well as changing the use of the building, plans also included a three-storey extension at the back of the building which was described as a “vast, virtually featureless, black mass behind the carefully detailed original building”,  by a council conservation officer.

Junction Dental. (Image: Raj Ahlowalia)
The application had claimed that works would have been “mindful” of the property’s locally-listed status and would concentrate on the rear to conserve the view of the building from the street.

Planning documents added that it would complement the ground-floor dental practice and make the most efficient use of the site, with the extension representing “the most logical and sustainable development proposal for the site”.