A retirement village will be built near a hospital in order to bring the area “back to life”.

The project will be built on land to the south of Thomas Sawyer Way comprising the Waterside area and forming part of the Watford Riverwell development, which was formally known as Watford Health Campus.

Members of Watford Borough Council’s development management committee meeting approved the plans at a meeting on Wednesday.

Residents will move into a 253-unit residential care community aimed at people aged 55 and over.

There will be a number of facilities available including a health club, swimming pool, restaurant, hairdressers and a village hall that will have parking.

The proposal will also provide a new path to link Stripling Way with the wider development site.

The site does not have any listed buildings within it and is not located in a conservation area.

Agent Benedict Krauze spoke on behalf of developer Audley Group and said the proposals will “bring life back to the area”.

He said: “It still meets a housing need and will release family homes into the market.

“It is designed specifically for older people with an average age of 79 who may also be isolated and lonely.

“We care for 2,000 people across the country, we train our own staff and know how to help people with intermediate levels of dementia.

“We will welcome people into the homes in just over two years.”

Nobody spoke in objection to the plans during the meeting, however some committee members raised questions.

Cllr Nigel Bell asked: “Was it originally 10 storeys?”

He was told that as time has gone on the proposals have “evolved”.

Cllr Bell responded: “If there are people in their eighties on the tenth floor then good luck to them.”

Cllr Sohail Bashir also asked if 10 visitor spaces “filled a shortfall”.

However he added he supported the application as it was a “fantastic project”.

All members of the planning committee voted in favour of the project going ahead.

This application is part of the wider Watford Health Campus site, which has been under construction since 2015.

On January 6 2015, an application was put forward for a new hospital and healthcare accommodation that offered business, retail and leisure uses.

There will also be 681 new homes, safeguarding land for the expansion of Laurance Haines Primary School.

A proposal for 95 flats with parking and landscaping on the land northwest of the hospital site - where the former Willow Lane allotments were located - was granted planning permission on July 5, 2017.