St Albans council will tonight decide on whether to let developers build 107 flats at the Old Electricity Works on Campfield Road.

The proposal will be discussed by a planning committee following concerns about the mass and scale of the development and parking provision.

If granted planning permission, developers would retain the northern facade of the works building, which dates back to 1908, and the facade of the adjoining building, but demolish the remaining industrial units on the 0.69 hectare site.

In their place would be built 64 one-bedroom, 31 two-bedroom, 12 three-bedroom flats, 162 beds in total, with 118 parking spaces for residents, and four spaces for a 499 square metre office space.

35 per cent of the flats will be affordable housing.

Campfield Road resident Maria Oosting has commented on the proposals, saying: “The junction between Campfield Road and Camp Road is extremely busy, so additional traffic will cause even more problems.

“The roundabout on Campfield Road and Roland Street sees many near accidents as the volume of traffic and the type of traffic is simply too much for those roads which were build in 1930.

“Additional work and domestic traffic will really cause a problem. The road infrastructure must be amended or updated prior to being given the go-ahead.”

The architects’ design statement reads: “The proposal maximises the strength of the existing street scene by reusing parts of the existing building and reproviding approximately 499sqm of commercial space to Campfield Road.”

A planning statement by developers Campfield Road Property Ltd says the development will result in 40 additional vehicle movements on the site each day, which they say will not be to the detriment of the surrounding road network.

Two pre-application meetings have already been held between the council and the developers, as has a public consultation.

Officers have recommended the planning committee grants planning permission.