Up to 800 jobs will be created when retail giant Asda builds its largest-ever superstore on the Odhams site, in north Watford.

The company, which already has more than 100 stores nationwide, last week exchanged contracts with print tycoon Robert Maxwell’s British Printing and Communication Corporation for an undisclosed price.

Deputy managing director of the Leeds-based Asda company. Mr David Gransby, described the planned north Watford superstore as “Asda’s southern flagship”.

He said: “You are going to see our largest Asda superstore. We are intending to convert the existing building because we feel it is a fairly solid structure and an important local landmark.”

The sale comes after a bitter planning wrangle between BPCC and Watford Borough Council. The authority refused permission for a superstore claiming the site should still be used for industry. But the council lost its case on appeal.

[From the Watford Observer of January 4, 1985]

Sunshine and the glamour of Miss Lauren Bacall broke through the fog at Hemel Hempstead yesterday.

The American actress, widow of Humphrey Bogart, had groped her way through the fog to reach the site of Hemel Hempstead’s new cinema-to-be at the corner of Combe Street and Marlowes.

There, after being welcomed by the Mayor, Miss Bacall sent a bottle of champagne crashing against the side of the bulldozer that is now engaged in preparing the site for the first Rank Organisation cinema to be built in Britain since the war.

Before leaving, Miss Bacall told the Press how thrilled she had been with her visit to Hemel Hempstead. With her she took a replica of the Armada dish which, with other silver from the Armada, had been buried at Dartmoor in 1645. It was presented to her by Mr Wells on behalf of the Corporation.

[From the Watford Observer of January 30, 1959]

The barrel organ collection in Watford High Street, organised by Watford Round Table for the benefit of the old folk of the town raised £264 – an all-time record.

The response to the appeal boxes in some 50 local shops was also encouraging. This was the first time it had been tried in Watford, and an estimated £100 worth of groceries were collected in this way.

Mr J. Minter, for the Round Table, said: “The £264 collection in the High Street was achieved in about eight hours – over 10/- a minute throughout the day.”

[From the Watford Observer of January 15, 1965]

Scores of motorists have ignored pre-Christmas warnings about the dangers of drink-driving, according to Hertfordshire Police figures.

Over a two-week period, almost 500 drivers were breath-tested countywide and just under a fifth were found to be over the limit. The figures also reveal that 155 – almost one-third – of the breath tests followed accidents while 26 (more than a quarter) of those who failed tests had been involved in crashes.

[From the Watford Observer of January 3, 1986]