Three Rivers District Council to decide on planning application for 6 storey block of flats adjacent to Kings Langley Station
TRDC’s Planning Committee are due to consider the above application (reference: 22/2025/FUL) at their planning meeting at Penn Chambers, Three Rivers House, Northway, Rickmansworth, WD3 1RL on Thursday 20 April 2023 at 7.30pm. Members of the public can attend the meeting and there is plenty of parking nearby.
The site already has permission for 23 one and two bedroom flats in a 4 storey building and space for a commercial unit on the ground floor. As this is a brownfield site, the KL&DRA did not object as it makes sense to use the area for new housing.
We do object to the latest application where the developer has applied for permission to add a further 13 flats, raising the height to 6 storeys. Parking at the site is proposed at 25 car parking spaces for the residential properties and 6 for commercial use and we expect to speak at the planning meeting opposing the application.
Our reasoning will be as follows:
At 6 storeys and in an elevated position along the Gade Valley, the block will be at least two storeys higher than any other building in the village.
It will be significantly higher in elevation than the new Bellway development at the old West Herts College site as, even though the Bellway building will be 5 storeys, it is lower in elevation as it is close to the canal.
Despite, the location being described as sustainable, as it is close to the railway station, it will over-shadow the single storey station building and also be significantly higher than the row of Victorian cottages it is positioned next to.
It is unreasonable to assume that just because it is next to the station, the occupants will not need car spaces. Less than one parking space per dwelling is inadequate and will lead to on-road parking in the surrounding area.
The development show no sympathetic design or respect to the historic nature of Kings Langley and is out of keeping with the street scene.
The block will be built close to a wide expanse of Green Belt land on the other side of the railway and be a significant eyesore from the viewpoints further up on the side of the Gade valley
It remains to be seen what TRDC’s Planning Committee decide, but if they grant permission, it will indicate how little concern and respect they have for the village of Kings Langley and set a dangerous precedent for more multi-storey developments in the TRDC side of Kings Langley.