Updates to four Watford area planning applications

September saw progress on both recent and long-debated developments in and around the town, including an update on the proposed relocation of the Breakspeare SEND school to Croxley Green.

HCC Highways officers also recommended that plans for over 300 flats in a 16-storey tower be refused over multiple accessibility fears.

Read the list below:

More details on 600-home plan

Fresh details have been released on plans for 600 new homes on 101 acres of agricultural land next to Whippendell Wood, an ancient beauty spot.

A public consultation has been launched online over a proposed 600-home development after preliminary plans were revealed in early August.

An overview of the proposed mixed-use development. (Image: RPS Consulting Services) As well as featuring CGIs of how the estate could look, the interactive website by development firm Richborough also revealed that a corridor of green space would run through the middle of the new estate to retain the view of the 19th century grade-II listed Durrants House in Croxley Green.

The proposed estate would mainly be two to three storeys-tall, with some landmark four-floor buildings. (Image: Richborough) It also revealed that a 30-metre barrier would be implemented next to Whippendell Wood, which is thought to be over 400 years old, with additional controls on artificial light around the edge of the development. 

Controversial 5G mast blocked 

Controversial plans for a 5G mast in Gosforth Lane, near St Joseph's Primary School in South Oxhey, have been blocked for the second time amid hundreds of objections.

Vodafone had applied to erect a 17.5m antenna under permitted development in July, just months after a previous application for a larger 20m aerial in the same spot was blocked by Three Rivers District Council.

Plans for a 17.5m telecommunications mast provoked objections from hundreds of residents and councillors. (Image: Cllr Steve Cox/John Eastwood/Cornerstone) But the prior approval application has been refused by district councillors on the grounds it would “appear as a visually incongruous, prominent, and obtrusive feature which would result in harm to the character and appearance of the street scene and wider area”.

It was the third attempt by telecommunications infrastructure firm Cornerstone to install a mast in the same area, which it said would improve 4G and 5G coverage for the area.

When the plans returned this summer, they sparked a backlash among South Oxhey residents including Labour councillor Steve Cox who branded the mast “unsightly and incongruous”.

Town centre tower recommended for refusal

Developer Kosy Living said it was “shocked” when Herts Highways recommended its plans for a 363-flat 16-storey tower near Watford Junction be refused.

The planning application would see Apex House, in Bridle Path, demolished to make way for the co-living space – which would also have offices on the lower floors.

CGI image showing how the tower would look, in Bridle Path. (Image: Kosy Living/CKC Properties, Watford Borough Council planning portal.) Kosy Living had said the proposed walking and cycling accessibility was “excellent”, but the plans hit a setback on Friday (September 20) when HCC officers issued their recommendation, objecting to the proposal by citing eight reasons and saying that accessibility is “far from ‘excellent’”.

Among the reasons cited were a “hazardous” lack of service bays for the likely number of delivery vehicles and narrow footpaths which would be partly obstructed by new cycle stands and bollards.

Planners back ‘completely unsuitable’ school access

Planning officers have doubled down on a controversial access route for the relocated Breakspeare School in Croxley Green despite fears of a “torrent of traffic” through the residential road.

Hertfordshire County Council staff still believe that Manor Way is the best access road to the proposed SEND school in the disused former Durrants School playing field, according to a review of all the possible options published on September 19.

A CGI of how the new school could look. (Image: Hertfordshire County Council/Holmes Miller) County councillors had postponed their decision on the project in July to allow officers to reconsider all the possible access routes, as Conservative councillor Ken Crofton warned at the time that Manor Way was “completely unsuitable”.

Steve Middleton (left) and Cllr Chris Lloyd (right) in Manor Way where it would be extended to form the site access. (Image: Cllr Chris Lloyd) But following a survey carried out by engineering consultants PJA on behalf of HCC, officers concluded they had not changed their judgement that Manor Way was still the best access route.