A seven-storey car park in Watford has been given the go-ahead.

This evening, the planning committee at Watford Borough Council unanimously approved plans for a new multi-storey car park at Watford General Hospital.

It is part of the major Riverwell development which will bring hundreds of homes, a hotel, retail space, a primary school, a public square, a care home, a community centre, as well as the new car park.

There will be around 1,450 spaces – 1,300 of which will be for staff and visitors at the hospital. This includes a provision of 72 disabled spaces.

The rest of the allocation is for corporate members at Watford Football Club and future hotel use.

The new car park will be built on part of the former allotment site while the existing hospital car parking site will be redeveloped into homes and the school amongst other developments.

Watford Observer:

An aerial view south west of the Riverwell development. The car park, pictured in the middle, will be surrounded by many of the new developments.

Some councillors did make a point that the design of the car park could have been more "attractive" and "striking" but as a whole the committee looked past the concerns to see the wider "practical" benefits of having a multi-storey car park.

The new site will be a lot "safer and convenient" for people visiting hospital and will no longer have to go up a hill. The access road for the car park already has planning permission.

The permission comes a week after West Herts Hospital Trust, which is responsible for Watford General, St Albans City, and Hemel Hempstead hospitals, confirmed it would not be building a new A&E hospital, and the trust was committed to redeveloping and modernising Watford General.