Watford Borough Council has approved an amendment to a major planning application which will see an extra 21 flats built.

In 2018, the council granted permission to build 227 flats in Sydney Road in the west of the town on the site of a derelict laundry factory.

Since then, the development site has been bought by housebuilder Weston Homes, and earlier this year, Weston Homes submitted a revision to the approved application.

The housebuilder was seeking to boost the number of flats by 21 to a total of 248.

To incorporate the new flats, a part 11, part six storey building will become part 13, part seven storey, while another block will increase from nine floors to 11.

In total, eight blocks will be built - of which 13 storeys will be the highest.

Hillingdon Times:

The former Watford Laundry Factory

Seven of the 21 new flats have been set aside as affordable, including three for social rent and four for affordable rent - but a total of 26 affordable homes (10.5 per cent of the 248 flats) still falls way below the council's policy that 35 per cent of a scheme should include affordable housing.

The additional 21 flats were approved by a council planning officer on September 14 with building work on the scheme already underway.

A further 278 flats are also being built in Sydney Road as part of a separate scheme.

This scheme, also approved in 2018, does meet the council's 35 per cent policy on affordable housing.