A Bushey-based developer has been called "immoral" and "opportunistic" after a planning application to reduce the number of affordable housing it is required to provide in the former Mecca Bingo building in Watford.

Councillors on Watford Borough Council's Development Management Committee said the Heronslea Group was "trying to do over the people of Watford" when it rejected the application last week.

The developer, which bought 19 King Street in October last year, suggested to the committee that the building is now vacant and under new national guidelines would qualify for a vacant building credit - which could be used to reduce the amount of affordable housing required.

In March the committee granted planning permission for the flats development on the condition it provided four units of affordable housing - the standard on a development that size would be nine.

However, in light of the new guidelines Heronslea said it should provide one unit of affordable housing.

Simon Warner, planning manager for Heronslea, said: "The principal of this development has been approved. Since November 2014 such guidance has appeared to make building credit affordable housing. This development fits exactly the principal of getting a vacant building developed before it becomes abandoned.

"The Rank Group, which run Mecca Bingo, vacated the building in October 2014.

"It is a significant cost to us to refurbish the façade in an Art Deco style.

"We are suggesting one affordable housing unit for the development.

"Six months ago this legislation was established, if the council doesn’t recognise it - how can this be fair."

However, committee members said the application was "opportunistic" and a "poor show" from a developer that claims to have local interests at heart.

George Derbyshire, Liberal Democrat for Park, said: "This is an opportunistic application by the developer right on the back of the new national planning policy guidelines. The developer already specified the viability of the development based on four affordable housing units. I don’t see how we can agree to this application."

Labour's Nigel Bell, who represents Holywell, said: "The whole point of vacant building credit is that it should not be applied as a blanket policy in all cases and be used at our discretion.

"This wasn’t a vacant building. It hasn’t been lying there for years. As soon as Mecca left it was bought by the developer. We are quite right to make a stand on this."

Tim Williams, Liberal Democrat for Stanborough, said: "It’s definitely not a vacant building. Heronslea made the site vacant by not doing anything to it. They made this building vacant themselves. It’s a little immoral to come back with this application.

"Heronslea is trying to do us over and do over the residents of Watford."

Stephen Johnson, Liberal Democrat for Tudor, said: "I wasn’t happy to go down to 17 per cent affordable housing. Now that’s been agreed viable to go ahead and build it, they should build it. We do need affordable housing desperately and Heronslea is trying to do us out of it."

Chairman of the committee, Rabi Martins, added: "You claim to be a local developer, with local interests, which means affordable housing - to try and get out of it on this kind of technicality is very poor show."