Five updates to Watford area planning applications in August

August saw progress to both recent and long-debated developments in and around the town, as the controversial Kytes Drive suffered another setback when two Hertfordshire County Council departments objected again to the updated plans.

Hundreds of South Oxhey residents also signed a petition against a 17.5-metre 5G mast over fears for the children's health at a nearby primary school.

Read the full list below:

Pub plan ASB fears

"Alarming" plans to convert The Old Station House into a new Watford pub have triggered fears among nearby residents over safety and antisocial behaviour.

CGI showing how the proposed extension would look. (Image: Watford Council planning portal/CESA Developments Limited/Nissen Richards.) The building, between the railway line and Watford Cross development in St Albans Road, has been vacant for six years but plans to convert the Grade II listed building into a boozer were submitted in August.

(Image: Watford Council planning portal/CESA Developments Limited/Nissen Richards.) The council has since received seven objection letters, including one resident who said a pub would leave them feeling “extremely scared” and “unsafe”.

Another Chiltern Court resident added: “Public houses can, unfortunately, attract antisocial behaviour, including loud and disruptive conduct, vandalism, and public intoxication."

Homes and school cut from golf club redevelopment

Hundreds of homes and a proposed secondary school were cut from redevelopment plans for the former Bushey Hall Golf Course when they were officially submitted last month. 

An overview of the proposed estate. (Image: Griggs Homes)

The site had previously been earmarked for 400 homes, although the provision has been reduced to 350 units to address concerns raised in the public consultation over traffic impacts and housing density.

The proposed six-form entry secondary school has also been removed due to “significant” community objection, according to Griggs Homes, over the “need and location of the school on the site and related traffic implications”.

Road safety fears in former police station plan

Hertfordshire County Council’s highways team has voiced “doubts over the road safety of occupiers” if plans for 314 flats at the former Watford Police Station go ahead.

Residential developer McLaren Living has applied to build three new buildings between four and 23 storeys tall at the Clarendon Road site after the force moved to its new George Street headquarters this year.

CGI image of the scheme attached to the design and access statement. (Image: Mclaren Living)In the refusal recommendation dated August 8, officers highlighted that many residents would regularly walk to Watford Junction but said that this is reached by an uncontrolled staggered zebra crossing.

They added there have been two serious crashes involving “vulnerable road users” at that location and requested a full review of crashes there, on top of the one for immediately around the site.

Hundreds sign petition against 5G mast plan

Controversial plans for a 17.5-metre 5G mast in Gosforth Lane by St Joseph's Primary School, South Oxhey, have triggered a 660-strong petition with fears raised over children's safety.

John Eastwood has been collecting signatures against the plan. (Image: Facebook/John Eastwood) South Oxhey resident John Eastwood, 64, collected signatures from local residents before handing in the petition on August 27 at the Three Rivers District Council offices in Rickmansworth.

Highways and flooding teams object to Kytes Drive again

Despite updated designs to address fears, highways and flooding experts objected again to the Kytes Drive redevelopment plans last month.

Care home provider Anchor submitted proposals to demolish the estate’s 56 existing bungalows and build 63 houses, as well as a 71-home retirement apartment building, to Watford Borough Council in November last year.

(Image: PRP / Watford Borough Council)The applicant came back with a whole new set of designs at the end of June after the county council’s highways team and lead flood authority both recommended the scheme be refused.

Despite the changes, the updated consultee responses revealed that highways officers recommended refusal again and the flood authority maintained its objection.