Former police station to be turned into flats

Planning permission to convert a former police station in a town into flats has been granted.

Broxbourne Borough Council's planning committee unanimously agreed to the plans for the building in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire at a meeting on 20 May.

Since the 1960s-built police station closed, the site on the west side of the High Street has been used by the Teens Unite charity, by a café, and a second-hand clothes and book shop.

Committee member Paul Mason described the plans as a "big improvement" on the current state.

The building, which is no longer owned by Hertfordshire Police, will be extended as part of the work to turn it into 27 two-bedroom flats with most of them having an en-suite as well as a main bathroom.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service it will now reach a height of four storeys, and include private balconies and terraces as well as communal gardens.

Access will be from Woodlands Close, and there will be a total of 30 car parking spaces for the site.

While that is below the 54 expected spaces under the council's parking standards, officers noted that the site had "constraints" and that it was "within easy walking distance to bus services."

The applicant's agent said: "The site presented us with a fantastic opportunity to refurbish and extend the existing building with an attractive, modern landmark building."

Officers said the application would "promote an effective use of previously developed or brownfield land in meeting the need for new homes in a sustainable location".

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