First phase of 192-home development at Watford Riverwell to launch

Work is to begin on delivering new homes on land just to the south of Watford's Vicarage Road stadium.

Permission was granted in April last year to build new 192 properties on the land, which was formerly the Farm Terrace Allotments.

The £40m 'Avenues' development consists of two phases and construction will be carried out by Hertfordshire-based Jarvis Contracting.

The first phase, due to be completed next summer, involves building 62 houses, along with 23 affordable homes to be managed by Watford Community Housing.

Phase two will offer 57 houses, along with 50 flats in a seven-storey block with a ground floor community centre.

Some of the properties in phase two will be designated as affordable - as a whole, the 192-home scheme does comply with Watford Borough Council's policy that at least 35 per cent of a development is set aside as affordable housing.

CGI of the Avenues development as part of Watford Riverwell. Credit: Kier Property

Andrew Storey, managing director for Kier Property – Regeneration, the company overseeing the whole scheme, said: "It is great to be starting on site with the next phase at Watford Riverwell. Avenues offers high quality affordable accommodation in a fantastic location.

"This is our second contract with Jarvis, which successfully completed the first residential phase known as Woodlands in 2019."

Development elsewhere at Riverwell has also been gathering pace.

Bellway announced in March this year that a selection of properties at its 408-home Waterside development are now for sale. Some residents have already moved into the Woodlands scheme.

CGI of the Waterside scheme at Watford Riverwell. Credit: Bellway

Construction of a 255-room retirement home, to be operated by Mayfield Villages, is also ongoing.

Nearby, work on building a new multi-storey car park for Watford General Hospital is now underway.

The Riverwell scheme as a whole will deliver around 1,000 new homes, the Mayfield retirement village, a primary school, hotel, business opportunities, and open spaces. Work has also been taking place to improve the River Colne.