Red Lion development now rejected for a second time

The application to construct eight flats next to the Red Lion in Vicarage Road has been rejected after Watford Borough Council’s planning committee ruled the scheme’s design was not good enough for the conservation area.

The decision was met with cheers from a packed chamber at the Town Hall on Wednesday night.

A similar bid from the pub’s new owner Anna Reza was also thrown out in April after councillors said the plans resembled houses in South Korea.

A slightly revised plan, which had been recommended for approval by planning officers, was for two two-storey buildings with eight self contained flats.

No parking was included in the plan.

The applicant Helen Cuthbert told the chamber she would be appealing the decision.

She said: “We were asked to go back and look at the design so we have made it more traditional.

"The two buildings would enhance this part of the conservation area and will bring back to use land that has not been used for years.”

People living in Vicarage ward, and councillors representing the area, have been strongly opposed to the plans which they say could have had a negative impact on loss of trees and greenery in the area, loss of light and made parking worse.

Speaking against the application at the meeting, Oxford Street resident Pascale Amouret listed concerns of parking, the loss of trees and the poor design and height of the buildings.

Debating the application, Cllr Nigel Bell said: “These houses are in a conservation area. We don’t want to lose the unique design.”

Cllr Iain Sharpe said the plans had been changed enough to be approved. He said: “The reality is this kind of infill development is always tricky and does change the immediate environment.

"But we do exist within a planning system set nationally where there is an assumption that if someone owns land they are entitled to do what they want with it.

"One may wish the owners would turn this into a car park or amenity space but we don’t have a right to tell them to do that.

“The only thing we have reason to consider turning down to or not is if the design has overcome our reason for refusal for last time.

“We wanted to see something more traditional and something more resembling the Red Lion pub. I think this is acceptable from my point of view.”

Five members on the planning committee voted to refuse the application with two objections.

The fan pub, which was listed as a community asset in September, is currently being redeveloped and is hoping to open by the start of the new football season in a couple of weeks.