Watford tower block plans narrowly approved by council

Plans for what the development will look like were shown to Watford Borough Council

Plans for a new 12-storey tower block have been narrowly approved despite one councillor calling it an "eyesore".

Liberal Democrat-run Watford Borough Council granted permission for 63 flats in Watford town centre.

The Royal Bank of Scotland building on Clarendon Road can now be demolished to make way for the new homes.

Councillor Peter Jeffree said the tower block development was a "very good scheme".

A vote on the plans by the authority's development management committee was evenly split, with permission granted after the casting vote by the chairman, Mr Jeffree.

However, some councillors said the development would affect places nearby, such as the Palace Theatre.

The development, part of which will be eight storeys and the other 12 storeys, will also have a ground floor café or business lounge and a community space, reported the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The developers, Iceni Projects and IDA London Holdings, said there would not be parking on-site because of the proximity of the development to Watford Junction and the town centre.

They also said it would not be able to include affordable housing within the plans, but Watford Borough Council would receive £300,000 for off-site development into affordable housing.

Labour councillor Sara Jane Trebar said the development would be "encroaching" on the town centre, and added it would be an "eyesore".

Mairéad Flower from Iceni Projects said the development would "transform a under-utilised site to provide high quality new homes".

Council officers recommended the plans for approval, saying the tower block "would make efficient use of this town centre site to provide high quality residential dwellings in a sustainable location whilst also adding to the commercial offer and town centre vitality".

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