Updated plans to turn a former car showroom into a four-storey block of flats will be considered by councillors this week.

The applicant Howarth Homes wants to build a part three, part four storey building containing 21 flats, associated parking – one space for each dwelling – altered access and landscaping on the former site of Watford Car Sales near the Dome Roundabout.

The proposed site lies to the north of the roundabout where the A41 North Western Avenue meets the A412 St Albans Road, and was a petrol filling station before being turned into an open air car showroom.

Watford Borough Council has already granted the applicant planning permission for a similar development at the site, with the main difference being an increase in the number of units from 18 to 21 – 10 of them one-bedroom homes, and 11 of them two-bedroom.

Seven “affordable” units had been proposed as part of the scheme. However given that the increased number of dwellings would not benefit from an increase in floor space, they would have to be “skewed on” to the building.

The council says homes of this nature “are not in pressing demand for social housing purposes”, and is therefore considering a “commuted sum” of nearly £700,000 from the developer to provide social housing elsewhere.

Some neighbours have raised concerns about the project, with some saying the development is oversized and not compatible with the surrounding two-storey houses, while others bemoan a lack of recreation facilities for children.

However the council believes the proposed development will make a positive contribution to the character of the area without causing any significant harm to nearby amenities.

The proposal is considered acceptable in principle and has been recommended for approval by the council’s development management section head.

The latest proposal could be rubberstamped at a meeting of the council’s development management committee on Thursday evening.