Previously deferred plans for a new teaching block at a private school in Harrow were firmly rejected by the council after outstanding concerns were left unaddressed.

Several councillors, as well as those living close to John Lyon School, in Harrow-on-the-Hill, suggested “nothing had changed” from the contentious application discussed by the planning committee in January.

They had previously expressed concerns about the size and design of the new facilities, the lack of community benefit and the impact on the Harrow-on-the-Hill conservation area.

John Lyon hopes to build a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics) block on the site of its Oldfield House.

And it pointed out that, as part of this latest application discussed last week, it had conducted an alternative site test and found that other options were unsuitable.

However, residents opposed to the plans said there had been no further consultation with the local community, despite a willingness to come to a “less harmful” solution.

Ashley Vickers, of Crown Street, said “absolutely nothing has changed over the past ten months” and that his and his neighbours’ objections “remain exactly the same”.

Speaking at the planning meeting in January, Mr Vickers described the application as an “ill-conceived, harmful proposal” and said developers should not seek to achieve their aims by “riding roughshod over planning agreements to the detriment of the local environment and community”.

Cllr Stephen Greek, who represents Harrow Weald ward, said the latest submission was “a missed opportunity and a huge disappointment”.

He explained: “In principle, it is very welcome that a school would want to expand and improve its facilities – particularly in the important area of STEAM education.

“However, it is also very important to get the details of this right, particularly at such a sensitive location.”

He suggested the proposal, in its current form, is a “waste of everyone’s time” and he urged the school to come back with “a more suitable scheme following meaningful consultation with the community, which [the council] can then be proud to support”.

James Govier, of the JTS Partnership, the agent representing the school, said it had listened to the objections put forward but that it was still of the belief this was an appropriate application.

He said: “We’ve developed a high-quality proposal that will provide significant educational benefits to the community and the borough.

“The school knows better than anyone what changes are needed to continue to provide educational excellence in this very competitive sector.”

He added that some tweaks had been made in terms of size and location following discussions with the council.

However, the planning committee was left unconvinced and six of the seven members – chairman Cllr Keith Ferry abstained – voted against the scheme.