Decision delayed on Turnford four-storey block of flats
Newriver Estates Ltd wants to build the 80-storey block on the former New River Arms pub site
A decision on whether a four-storey block of flats in Turnford can proceed has been delayed after councillors raised concerns about its height and a lack of financial contributions to public services.
Newriver Estates Ltd wants to build the 80-storey block on the former New River Arms pub site, which was demolished around 2018.
Their plans include an underground car park, a rooftop terrace, and private balconies for each flat.
The block would include 21 studio flats, 41 flats with one bedroom, 17 with two bedrooms and one with three bedrooms.
However, councillors on Broxbourne Borough Council’s planning committee said on Tuesday (March 4 ) that it was too tall.
Cllr John Perkins said: “It’s really sad, in a way, because the building is quite a good-looking building. But it’s just too high and too bulky.”
His concerns were echoed by Cllr Peter Chorley, while Cllr Carol Bowman suggested it included too many studio flats, which she described as “bedsits”.
Cllr Corina Gander said it reminded her of “student accommodation” and asked for more two-bedroom flats – rather than smaller properties – to help meet Broxbourne’s “housing need”.
The committee’s chair, Cllr Pierce Connolly, was the member who proposed deferring a decision on whether to grant planning permission for the block “to give officers and the applicant a chance to speak and see if concerns from this evening can be addressed”.
He pointed out that a viability assessment showed the current scheme would, in the view of council officers, mean requests for money towards the NHS and Hertfordshire County Council service would not be possible.
Malcolm Briggs, who gave a public speech against the scheme, said residents had had to look at an “eyesore” of a building site for “far too long”.
He said residents want the site to be developed but “not at any cost”, and called for the top storey and the roof garden to be removed.
Cllr Chorley suggested the applicant could look into reducing costs by moving parking to the ground floor and having flats on the floors above.
A speaker on behalf of the applicant said the “high quality” development would help protect the green belt by allowing building on a brownfield site. He pointed out that there would be no commercial space within the proposals, unlike an earlier application for the same site.
Council officers had recommended that councillors approve the development.