A new development promising 46 affordable homes to the east of Hemel Hempstead has been given the green light by councillors.

The proposals will see four apartments and garages demolished to make room for the scheme, which will include a row of terraced houses and a three-storey apartment building.

The scheme will include 18 one-bedroom apartments, 12 two-bedroom apartments, three two-bedroom houses and 13 three-bedroom houses.

All the properties will be available as social homes with affordable rents.

The plans also include a total of 60 parking spaces for the new homes, with gardens for each house and a communal outdoor space for the apartment block.

Councillors agreed to green light the plans at a meeting of the council’s development management committee on December 16.

Planning permission will be formally granted upon signing of legal agreements.

A total of 27 neighbours submitted objections to the plans, citing existing flood risk and the risk of putting more pressure on local schools and health services.

Residents also raised concerns about the impact on traffic, loss of green space, local infrastructure and the risk that the new buildings would overlook existing properties.

Hertfordshire County Council, as lead local flood authority, also recommended a number of conditions to ensure the flood risk was mitigated on the development and did not raise an objection to the plans.

Council officers recommended the scheme be approved, noting that the site was allocated for residential development in 2017 and has been included in the council’s emerging Local Plan.

In a report ahead of last month’s meeting, officers said: “The scheme would integrate with the existing neighbourhoods and no significant impacts have been identified regarding residential amenity. The surrounding road network and social infrastructure appears sufficient to accommodate the proposed development and consultees have reaffirmed this. The development would provide an acceptable layout and parking arrangement.”

The report acknowledges the proposals would alter the character of the area and remove the existing open space, but the design was considered acceptable and would satisfactorily assimilate between the older St Margarets Way and newer Kings Copse developments.

The borough council’s development management committee voted through the plans by 8-1, with one abstention.