The Parade & Watford Market, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD17
- Land size
- 1.15 acres
Key Features
- An opportunity to transform Watford Market into a vibrant destination for town-centre living, shopping and dining.
- A substantial 1.15-acre town-centre site bringing together High Street retail, offices, a gym and the existing Watford Market.
- An established tenant mix including B&M, producing £549,996 per annum with opportunities to enhance income and unlock further value through active asset management.
- Resolution to grant planning permission for 141 new homes across two blocks, alongside a revitalised market and new commercial space.
- Acquire the freehold and deliver the next chapter of Watford Market. Offers invited in excess of £11,500,000.
- Investment Opportunity
Description
:
Occupying a prominent position on Watford High Street, the property brings together a substantial retail and office parade, an adjoining gym building and part of Watford Market, creating an opportunity to reshape an established town-centre destination.
Known as 22-33 The Parade, the High Street accommodation comprises basement retail space, a triple-fronted ground-floor retail unit and three upper floors of offices. The adjoining four-storey gym building is accessed from Watford House Lane.
To the rear, Watford Market occupies a series of shipping containers arranged over two levels. The market spans two titles: land within the vendor's ownership, outlined in red on the plan opposite, and land owned by Watford Borough Council, outlined in blue.
The market is accessed from The Parade / High Street, with an additional entrance from Beechen Grove / Watford House Lane.
Overall, the site area extends to approximately 1.15 acres with the existing buildings totalling 115,018sq.ft.
LOCATION:
TOWN-CENTRE LIVING. EVERYTHING ON THE DOORSTEP.
Positioned between Watford High Street, Watford House Lane and Beechen Grove, the site places future residents at the heart of the town's shopping, dining and leisure offering.
With the High Street and Atria Watford within easy walking distance, future residents would enjoy shopping, dining and leisure on their doorstep, complemented by the revitalised market below.
The nearest stations are Watford Junction (0.4 miles) and Watford High Street (0.5 miles) both offering Overground services with direct links to London Euston in circa 50 minutes.
PLANNING:
The proposed redevelopment presents an opportunity to transform Watford Market into a vibrant mixed-use destination, combining 141 new homes with a revitalised market, new commercial space and enhanced public realm.
The scheme comprises 135 private apartments and six social rented homes, with a mix of one, two and three-bedroom accommodation across two blocks. Six new commercial units and a redesigned market would create an active setting for the new homes, bringing fresh energy to this central Watford location.
A resolution to grant planning permission was issued in 2024 (reference: 23/00391/FULM) for phased redevelopment, including demolition and partial demolition of the existing buildings. The affected market space would be temporarily relocated during construction.
On practical completion of the new market, Watford Borough Council has agreed to take a 20-year lease of the market space within the development title at £100,000 per annum.
The planning consent is subject to a Section 106 Agreement containing financial contributions and a late-stage review on affordable housing. A CIL liability of approximately £1,500,000 is also applicable. Please note that this is an indexed estimate as of January 2025 and should not be relied upon. Prospective purchasers should undertake their own analysis.
TERMS:
Offers invited in excess of £11,500,000 for the freehold interest. The subject property is for sale via informal tender (unless sold prior), all interested parties will be notified as to the proposed bid date in due course. The vendor is not bound to accept any or the highest offer.
Map Location
Property details
- Tenure
- Freehold
- Council Tax Band
- Ask Agent
- Date Posted
- 2026-11-02
Utilities & Restrictions
Utilities
- Electricity
- Ask Agent
- Water
- Ask Agent
- Heating
- Ask Agent
- Broadband
- Ask Agent
- Sewerage
- Ask Agent
Rights & Restrictions
- Public Rights of Way
- Ask Agent
- Private Rights of Way
- Ask Agent
- Listed Property
- Ask Agent
- Restrictions
- Ask Agent
Listed status, conservation areas and planning constraints for this location are in the full report.
Property Features
- Accessibility
- Ask Agent
- Parking
- Ask Agent
- Garden
- Ask Agent
Beyond the particulars: planning activity, flood history, heritage and ground risks, checked for this exact spot.
Connectivity
Broadband
Fastest speed available at this postcode
1.8 Gbps
Gigabit full fibre · available to 48% of premises
Suitable for
- 4K streaming on every screen
- Full-time home working
- Online gaming & big downloads
Mobile signal
Predicted 4G and 5G signal; indoor signal depends on building materials.
Ofcom Connected Nations postcode-level predictions. Speeds and signal are modelled, not measured, and vary between addresses and providers.
Signal is the easy part. Planning activity, flood history and protected designations here are in the full report.
Nearest Schools
Primary
- Watford St John's Church of England Primary School168 metresOfsted: Requires improvement *
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Pupils
- 401
- Type
- Free schools
- Faith
- Church of England/Christian
- Central Primary School466 metresOfsted report card · Feb 2026
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Pupils
- 399
- Type
- Community school
- Chater Junior School493 metresOfsted: Good *
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Pupils
- 237
- Type
- Community school
- Lanchester Primary School732 metresNo Ofsted rating
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Pupils
- 298
- Type
- Free schools
- Chater Infant School763 metresNo Ofsted rating
- Ages
- 3 to 7
- Pupils
- 223
- Type
- Community school
Secondary
- Watford Grammar School for Girls533 metresOfsted: Outstanding
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Pupils
- 1,427
- Type
- Academy converter
- Faith
- Church of England
- Gender
- Girls
- Watford Grammar School for Boys0.7 milesOfsted report card · Apr 2026
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Pupils
- 1,590
- Type
- Academy converter
- Faith
- Church of England
- Gender
- Boys
- Westfield Academy1 mileOfsted: Good *
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Pupils
- 1,331
- Type
- Academy converter
- Queens' School1.3 milesOfsted: Outstanding *
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Pupils
- 1,697
- Type
- Academy converter
- The Grange Academy1.4 milesOfsted: Good *
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Pupils
- 928
- Type
- Academy sponsor led
* Latest graded judgement covers quality of education only; no overall grade was issued under the 2024-25 inspection framework.
Distances are straight-line from the advertised location. Source: the national school registers (DfE, Welsh Government, Scottish Government) and Ofsted.
Schools are just the start: sold prices nearby, planning activity and any flood history are in the full report.
Amenities
Supermarket
GP surgery
Pharmacy
Hospital
Green space
Straight-line distances from the advertised location. Sources: NHS records, Geolytix supermarket locations, OS Open Greenspace and the national trails registers.
The area stacks up? Now check the location itself: planning nearby, protected designations and past flooding.
Getting Around
Nearest station
Nearest bus stop
Typical drive times
Straight-line distances from the advertised location; drive times are typical free-flow times over OpenStreetMap road data, so allow more at peak. Public transport locations from DfT NaPTAN.
Easy to reach matters. So do planning activity, flood history and ground risks: all in the full report.
Flood Risk
Environment Agency open data, checked around the advertised map pin for the listed acreage. Long-term risk counts flood defences; the planning map's flood zones do not. Provided by LandSale, not the listing agent, and not part of the agent's particulars. Risk varies across a holding, so verify before committing.
Rivers and the sea
Planning map: Flood Zone 1.
Surface water
Not at the pin: mapped about 10 metres away.
These bandings are the summary. Where this location sits on the flood maps, plus planning activity, heritage and ground risks, is in the full report.
Important notice: Information, maps and tags on this page are drawn from the advertising agent's marketing materials or generated automatically. LandSale has not verified them. Relying on these details is at your own risk, always carry out independent checks before committing to a purchase.
LandSale full disclaimer
Marketing information only - not formal particulars. The details on this website are provided for general guidance and do not constitute an offer or contract. Neither LandSale nor the advertising estate/land agent accepts responsibility for any inaccuracy.
1. Source of information
- Listing content: Core description, asking price, tenure, measurements, photographs and planning history originate from the marketing materials of the advertising estate or land agent. LandSale does not author this content and cannot guarantee its accuracy.
- Automated tags & categorisation: Property type, land-use class, acreage bands and similar labels may be applied by machine-learning models. They are intended as a helpful guide only and may not reflect the property's legal status or permitted use.
- Third-party & enriched data layers: Maps, boundary outlines, planning designations, soil reports, broadband coverage and other environmental or location-based insights are licensed from external suppliers. Such data are supplied “as is", may be incomplete or out of date and are subject to change without notice.
2. Verification required
Prospective purchasers must verify critical matters, including but not limited to planning permission, title boundaries, public rights of way, environmental constraints, acreage, services, access and VAT status, through their own inspections, specialist surveys, legal advisers and the selling agent before relying on the information or entering into any contract.
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