Flooding from toilets at North Herts Council's offices in Letchworth meant a meeting on Monday (December 9) to discuss plans for 2,100 homes had to be postponed.

Councillors were preparing for an extraordinary meeting to discuss plans for the land East of Luton when the flooding began late in the afternoon, cancelling the meeting.

Ian Couper, service director for resources at North Herts Council, said there had been a leak from a toilet "spilling water out into the corridor".

He said: "The leak means that almost all the toilets in the building can't be used until it is fixed so the majority of staff have been asked to work from home.

"Our customer reception was open this morning [Tuesday] but will close this afternoon to allow repair works to take place. Herts Careline is unaffected.

"We are trying to minimise disruption as much as possible and thank customers and staff for their understanding."

Updates will be available on North Herts Council's website and social media channels, and a new date for the council meeting will be announced.

The East of Luton land was allocated for around 2,100 homes in the council's Local Plan – the blueprint for future development in the area – and needs a masterplan to be approved.

The council's cabinet recommended approval when it met last month. 

A consultation took place in January and February this year, with landowners Bloor Homes, Crown Estate and ATO Holdings preparing the final masterplan for councillors.

The developments will be on land in Offley parish, close to the villages of Cockernhoe, Mangrove Green and Tea Green. 

Under current plans, a local centre including commercial and community space would be in "the heart of the development".

There would also be two new primary schools – both with two classes per year group – and one new secondary school, with the potential for up to six classes per year group.

Access to the sites would mainly be from Luton Road and Crawley Green Road.

Developments on the sites will still require formal planning permission, but the masterplan will be used to inform decisions on whether to grant permission for those individual developments.