A Borehamwood housing association was granted permission to build 32 new homes in the town to help satisfy a demand for more affordable housing last week.

Ridgehill Housing Association received the borough council's consent to develop land in Tempsford Avenue and Torworth Road at a committee meeting on Thursday.

The plan involves building two three-storey blocks, each containing nine flats, and two semi-detached houses on land between Tempsford Avenue and Balmoral Drive.

A further 12 flats will be constructed on land next to the site once occupied by Torworth House residential home, where 37 homes are already being built by Ridgehill.

Ridgehill's director of housing Lily Smith said: "We are very pleased to get planning permission, so we can continue to meet the demand for affordable homes for local people."

The two blocks and two semi-detached houses will be built on land between 154 to 198 Tempsford Avenue and 75 to 139 Balmoral Drive, and will have 28 car parking spaces. As part of the project, 78 existing flats at the site, facing Tempsford Avenue and Balmoral Drive, will be refurbished.

At the second site, a three-storey block containing six one-bedroom and three two-bedroom flats will be built behind 2 to 24 Torworth Road.

In addition, a block currently being constructed at the site will be extended to include three extra flats, so that a total of 49 new affordable homes will be provided there.

Ridgehill said that the work on the plan for Torworth Road would start as soon as the first phase of the development was completed.