UK-based construction company McLaren Living has purchased the Watford Police Station and Magistrates Court in Watford, UK, to transform the property into a new mixed-use development.

The company is set to submit its plans to Watford Borough Council early next year for a new mixed-use community, which would feature 300 build-to-rent housing units and 30,000ft² of commercial space.

McLaren Living managing director Matthew Biddle said: “We’re really excited to have acquired such a great site, in the commercial heart of Watford, close to local amenities and with excellent connections to London.

“We’re looking forward to working with Watford Borough Council and the local community on our plans for Clarendon Road, to deliver a mixed-use neighbourhood, bringing forward much-needed new homes for rent, along with high-quality commercial space.”

The police department will be shifted from its current 1.75-acre site on Clarendon Road to a new location on George Street as per the plans.

Decommissioning work on the site is set to be finished in the second quarter of 2024.

Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner David Lloyd said: “I am pleased to see this conditional sale has been exchanged, and once completed will generate additional funding for the constabulary.

“The station on that site had reached the end of its economic life and it was no longer fit for purpose for the demands of officers and staff. Watford now has a new thoroughly modern police station in the town centre at 3 George Street.”

In April 2023, Ealing Council in London contracted McLaren Construction to construct 188 new houses in Acton.