Four major developments in Watford area approved on appeal

The following projects were all given the green light by the government-appointed planning inspectorate after they were blocked by councils at a local level.

The decision to approve the controversial schemes have occasionally drawn anger and disappointment, including in one case where local politicians accused the government of “ignoring local concerns". 

Read the list below: 

Wellstones Car Park

The Wellstones Car Park in Watford town centre is set to be replaced by an eight-storey block of 89 flats after the government overturned the borough council’s decision to refuse permission in May. 

How the flats will look from the ring road, shown by the arrow. (Image: Telereal Trillium) Last year, WBC had ruled that it would “appear dominant” and “visually compete” with Grade I-listed Holy Rood Church, and block the daylight and view of residents in The Clock House nearby.

In May, councillors accused the then-Conservative government of riding “a roughshod over local decision making” when the planning inspectorate pushed the project through, arguing that development was expected in a “densely developed town centre”.

Rectory Farm

Green belt campaigners were left “deeply disappointed” when plans for 135 homes at the Rectory Farm site in Kings Langley went through on appeal following a four-day inquiry in April. 

Rectory farm site/plans. Residents had lodged 173 objections and raised thousands of pounds to stop the scheme going ahead, which they feared could lead to the village merging with Nash Mills and Abbots Langley, thereby losing its character.

The Rectory Farm site from above. (Image: KL&DRA) Developers Cala Homes and Angle Property were “delighted” by the planning inspectorate’s decision on the scheme, which they said would “not only provide housing but will offer many benefits to the community, thanks to the extensive investment in the community hub and substantial public green spaces that will be created”.

83 homes in Sarratt

A “tranquil” plot of green belt land between Church Lane and Sarratt Road in Sarratt could be the site of a large housing development after permission was granted by the planning inspectorate in May.

The plans went to appeal after an application for up to 78 homes was shot down by Three Rivers District Council in 2022 over green belt concerns, with developer Burlington Property Group increasing the total number to 83 proposed properties.

The site location for the main plan. (Image: Google Maps/Canva) The planning inspectorate approved the scheme in May stating that the need for housing locally had gone “persistently going unmet”, which attached “very substantial weight” in favour of the development.

Alpine Press

Kings Langley is set for a six-storey block of flats on the former Alpine Press site in Station Road after an appeal overturned the decision to reject the "excessive" scheme.

Three Rivers councillors shot down plans for 36 one and two-bed flats, with retail space on the ground floor, in April last year over concerns for the building’s “elevated bulk and massing and excessive height”.

Designs for the block of 36 flats and retail space in Kings Langley. (Image: Wakelin Associates/Three Rivers District Council) But the government gave the tower the green light this week as Three Rivers was not able to demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites, meaning the balance should weigh in favour of sustainable development.