Arches plans: 'Big and ugly'

12:07pm Sunday 1st June 2008

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Plans to build a six-storey block of flats on land close to Bushey Arches will cause irreparable damage to Oxhey Village, residents have claimed.

Members of the Oxhey Village Environment Group (OVEG) say the 86 flats and three retail outlets proposed are too big and too ugly for the site, between Pinner Road and Aldenham Road.

The group is worried about long-term damage to the tight-knit village it has strived to protect for 35 years.

It has warned of an alienated, cramped community, and raised concerns about the prospect of chain stores buying up the retail space.

Group Chairman Andrew Filer, of Wilcot Avenue, is urging people to write to Watford Borough Council before the current consultation period ends on June 4.

He said: "What we have in front of us is a monster development; something that will dominate the skyline for ever.

"There are so many people in this community opposed to what this development stands for. We want to encourage community spirit and an open society where people know each other. That doesn't happen in high-rise developments.

"We have all seen what happened when they tried this type of thing in the 60s and 70s.

Developments like this only provide dormitories for people to sleep in, not homes for people to live in.

"And what about the proposed shops? The retail units will be a prime target for the supermarkets. How will that affect local traders?"

The development, on the site of the old JR Tagger car dealership, has caused controversy since it was first mooted last year.

After bitter community opposition London-based developer Dukelease Properties withdrew an application for a five-storey, 106 unit development in July after a barrage of protest from OVEG.

Mr Filer, who has lived in Oxhey for all of his 46 years, said he wants to see the application reduced even further.

He added: "We realise that something has to be done with the site because, as it stands, it is an eyesore. But we don't want this.

"We are not opposed totally to flats, but any development needs to be manageable."

Watford Borough Council, which must find room for 5,200 new homes by 2021, is expected to rule on the proposal in August.