Revised plans for homes on the site of a former bus garage will be considered in early September.

Watford Borough Council's planning committee will meet on September 7 to decide whether to approve a proposal for 127 flats in St Albans Road in Garston.

The development site is the locally listed Garston Bus Garage which has been out of use since 2018 after bus operator Arriva left the site.

The empty buildings and office, known as Marchwood House, are set to be pulled down in the coming months by developer Fairview New Homes.

Fairview has previously seen plans for 165 flats on this site turned down by the council. Councillors were concerned about the size of the proposal and loss of a locally listed building.

A subsequent appeal to the Planning Inspectorate by the applicants also failed.

Watford Observer: The entrance to the former bus depotThe entrance to the former bus depot

Fairview returned to the drawing board with a new architect and are now ready to present a new scheme which the developer hopes will convince the council's planning committee to approve.

Initially, two part-four, part-five storey buildings were proposed but now five separate blocks are proposed, set further back from St Albans Road, with the tallest building of five storeys in the middle of the development.

Watford Observer: A CGI of some of the buildings of flats that have been proposed. Credit: Fairview New HomesA CGI of some of the buildings of flats that have been proposed. Credit: Fairview New Homes

According to a planning report for the September 6 meeting, none of the 127 flats will be designated as affordable which the council says has been "justified through the submission of a detailed viability appraisal", which has also been independently reviewed.

The applicants, who paid £10.1 million for the site, have agreed to pay £194,000 towards affordable housing provision elsewhere in Watford, and this could be increased if the viability of the scheme improves over time.

A full explanation of the viability appraisal can be found from page 10 of this report.

Watford Observer: The bus garage site pictured in 2019. Credit: Stephen DanzigThe bus garage site pictured in 2019. Credit: Stephen Danzig

A total of 87 car parking spaces are proposed for this development along with 237 cycling spaces.

Meanwhile, a fee of nearly 11,000 is set to be paid by the developer to the council to help create a new path into Garston Park.

A total of 24 objections have been received for this application from the public, with issues raised including overdevelopment, loss of privacy, lack of affordable housing, and parking.

Despite these objections, the latest scheme has been recommended for approval

Planning officer Alice Reade concluded in her report: "The redevelopment of the former Garston Bus Garage to create a high quality residential development is considered acceptable in principle."

Watford Observer: Marchwood House, the office building for the former Garston bus garage. Pictured in 2019. Credit: Stephen DanzigMarchwood House, the office building for the former Garston bus garage. Pictured in 2019. Credit: Stephen Danzig

Although the buildings are locally listed, permitted development rights enable the buildings to be demolished without planning permission.

A site notice states the buildings are to be demolished between September and December this year.

Related: Green light given to demolish former bus garage in Garston

The bus garage was constructed between 1950 and 1952 with the buildings designed by the chief architect to the London Transport Executive, Thomas Bilbow.

Watford Observer: The bus garage site in 2019. Credit: Stephen DanzigThe bus garage site in 2019. Credit: Stephen Danzig

The Garston garage replaced the existing one in Leavesden Road and was the first post-war garage to be constructed for the operation of country buses and coaches.

The large operating capacity of the Garston Bus Garage led to the closure of the only other bus garage in the town, on the High Street.

Closure of the garage was confirmed by bus operator Arriva for 2018 and the site has been lying derelict since.