Watford have played their football at Vicarage Road for over 100 years and they have just started the new season at their home.
But the club had been looking at a future away from their legendary stadium – at least until the plans came crashing down.
In 2021, Watford had put forward plans for a brand-new 33,000-seater ground that would include some incredible features.
The venue was set to include a fanzone, cinema, football pitches, a 6,000 capacity indoor arena, a hotel and more facilities.
Developers proposed that the stadium be built on the site of the closed-down Bushey Hall Golf Club, with the club’s private owners reportedly putting the site forward as a location.
Bushey Hall Golf Club is just two miles away from Vicarage Road and was first tipped to be the area for a new Watford ground in 2019.
The stadium would have seen a major increase in capacity from 22,000 at Vicarage Road, whilst also making the hub of the club a state-of-the-art complex.
It was also reported to be a carbon-zero stadium too.
Plans revealed in the local press showed the design of the new complex, with the stadium the centre-piece of the venue.
And images of the new designs were leaked in 2020, showing fans what their new home could look like.
However, things all came to a halt in 2021 after the Hertsmere Borough Council’s planning officers rejected the plans.
The decision was made by the chair of the council’s planning committee and Watford were forced to scrap their new stadium.
Why did Watford’s plans get rejected?
As soon as plans were revealed for Watford’s new stadium complex to be built at Bushey Hall Golf Club, they were rallied against.
Local councillors and residents of the area stood against the idea and after a meeting with planning officers, plans were thrown out.
The backlash and rejection stemmed from the fact that the building application included changing the golf club from a greenbelt site to employment land.
A greenbelt site is an area of countryside that is specifically protected from most developments.
And the council believed the bid for Watford’s new stadium didn’t meet the criteria for the status of the land to be changed.
Due to the decision, Bushey Hall Golf Club is instead set to remain a greenbelt site until 2034.
Speaking after plans were revealed, local councillor Paul Richards spoke out, saying: “There’s no formal planning application, but what this move would do is indeed remove the Bushey Hall Golf Club from the green belt.
“And therefore, as an employment site, it would be available for their very destructive plans for a stadium, not just a stadium…it’s a big site but everything that would go on there would completely decimate it.”
Richards then later celebrated the decision to throw out the plan for Watford’s new stadium.
He said: “This is a victory for the people of Bushey. Our community has been saved from a disastrous scheme which we have fought against from the very start.
“I would like to thank planning officers for their hard work and good judgment in assessing this bid.
“But this outcome is due in great part to the spirit and determination of Bushey residents, who opposed the stadium with such tenacity and resolve.”
What could have been…
If Watford were successful in their bid for a new stadium, they would be eyeing a move out of Vicarage Road in the coming years.
That would have seen them make the switch into the fourth-largest ground in the Championship, with a capacity of 33,000.
Only Sheffield Wednesday‘s Hillsborough, Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium and Derby’s Pride Park have more seats.
Instead, Watford look to be remaining at Vicarage Road and plans for an expansion could still be in place instead.
Two EFL clubs that are closing in on a new stadium though, are Birmingham City and Luton Town.
Birmingham, backed by Tom Wagner and NFL legend Tom Brady, are planning a £3billion upgrade, while Luton are looking likely to be moving out of the iconic Kenilworth Road.