Three Rivers District Council planning committee members have unanimously approved plans prepared by Black Architecture for three new social rent schemes at the same committee meeting this month.

The properties will be developed through the joint venture partnership set up by Watford Community Housing Association and the Local Authority at Three Rivers. A mix of family homes and dual-aspect apartments will provide refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine with secure, high-quality accommodation on sites at Maples Cross and Mill End. The buildings are designed with a high performance fabric and conditioned via air source heat pumps, balanced with a mechanical vent heat recovery system.

The projects will be tendered to contractors on the Herts Beds and Bucks framework as a single package, with construction costs supported by the Government’s Local Authority Housing Fund.