The chairman of a sports club says he is "very pleased" after plans to build a block of flats on a corner of their land was passed.

Councillors unanimously approved plans on Monday night for 23 flats at West Herts Sports Club in Cassio Road, Watford.

The sports club were "desperate" for the plans to be passed because the development would help fund the investment the club said it needs.

A previous proposal for 25 flats was turned down by the planning committee in the summer of 2018 for a variety of reasons.

Members were critical of the design and scale of the flats and also had concerns about a lack of affordable housing, a loss of a designated open space, and the loss of the Meadowell health facility.

They were also concerned that very little detail had been given about how the club would spend the money from the sale of its land.

West Herts Sports Club went away and returned with a new scheme - this time for 23 flats in a four storey L-shaped block, and with a much more detailed document about where the cash would be spent.

The club is set to receive around £1.75 million from the sale of the land, while improvements to its facilities have been costed at £2.14 million by an independent surveyor, according to the planning report.

The improvements include a new function hall, fitness suite for a martial arts studio, a multi-use games area with floodlights, new cricket nets, reconfiguration of the club's car park to increase spaces from 91 to 103, overflow parking, new fencing, new floodlights for the tennis courts, a new grounds staff building and a green waste enclosure.

This time round, the committee were a lot more receptive to the scheme and it was passed unanimously.

The lack of affordable housing was "justified" because the sports club is the only multi-use sports club in Watford, and the council recognised this proposal represented the only opportunity for "significant investment".

Concerns about Meadowell, an NHS facility that had been on the proposed flats site for 15 years, were extinguished because the facility had relocated to Upton Road.

Dennis Lock, president and chairman of West Herts Sports Club, said: "The club is very pleased. This will enable us to improve our facilities on site and ensure our viability going into the future. The club would have gone downhill without this investment."