CAMPAIGNERS have vowed to keep fighting a “carbuncle” of a proposal until the very end after they were thrown out last night.

Kings Langley Parish Council refused to support an amended application to build 40 retirement flats on the edge of a conservation area in The Common.

But the war is not over yet as Dacorum Borough Council will now have the final say on whether they can be built.

Paul Rees, one of the driving forces behind the campaign to stop the flats from being built, said: “This is a key victory in the battle, but this plan is just the tip of the ice-berg.

“We will keep fighting until we have defeated this carbuncle of a proposal. I’m very pleased it was thrown out last night and the council saw through this cynical exercise. The authority is to be commended for throwing out this rehashed planning application.

“We have run a vociferous campaign because it’s completely out of keeping with our village.”

The plans were thrown out earlier this year but developers McCarthy and Stone made tweaks to the application so they could resubmit it.

But Mr Rees, 48, claims the new plans made “no difference at all” and merely tweaked minor, superficial designs.

“They made small changes to a monstrosity of a design that’s completely out of keeping with our village,” he added.

“They claim there’s a real demand for additional housing for older people in Kings Langley, but there are six developments for older people which have been for sale for a while.”

More than 1,200 people signed a petition against the plans, which is more than any other petition Kings Langley has ever seen.

It was supported by Hertfordshire County Council and MP Mike Penning, who spoke up about the issue in the House of Commons.

Meanwhile, the dad-of-two says a wider issue of overdevelopment needs to be addressed.

He says if the development is approved by Dacorum Borough Council, parking would be exacerbated and it would create a burden on infrastructure.

He added: “Kings Langley is under siege from developers who are trying to build on every green space there is.

“They want to infill every garden and cover every field and concrete. Our concerns are that this is a historic village.

“They are proposing to change the character of the conservation area for good.”

A spokesperson for McCarthy and Stone said: "A spokesperson for McCarthy and Stone said: “Naturally we are disappointed that Kings Langley Parish Council has objected to our proposals, but we are confident that our plans would help to meet an identified and growing need for this kind of specialist housing in the area.

"Our scheme uses previously developed land, ensuring that there is no additional pressure put on the green belt.

"Should we receive planning permission, we expect our new homeowners to contribute to the economy in Kings Langley.”