Kings Langley Alpine Press six-storey flats go to appeal

Three Rivers councillors shot down plans for 36 homes made up of a mix of one and two-bed flats at the former Alpine Press site in Station Road Kings Langley in April last year. Retail space was proposed for the ground floor.

The decision went against planning officers’ recommendation, and it appears the developer saw this as room for an appeal with the process beginning earlier this month.

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Councillors believed the building’s “elevated bulk and massing and excessive height”, next to the railway station, would damage the street scene.

They also took issue with the developer proposing “zero affordable housing”, and instead offering an agreement to pay the council £479,484 to provide affordable housing elsewhere.

Designs for a proposed block comprising 36 flats and retail space in Kings Langley. Credit: Wakelin Associates/Three Rivers District Council (Image: Wakelin Associates/Three Rivers District Council)

This had apparently not been secured through a legal agreement known as Section 106 prior to the decision.

The appeal will be determined on the basis of written representations, with the final representations from interested parties due by April 8 and final comments overall by April 22.

The decision date has not yet been decided.

A different scheme on the same site – for 23 flats retail space in a four-storey block – was granted planning permission in June 2020.