A proposal to demolish a former convent and replace it with four blocks of retirement flats has been rejected for the second time.

Beechcroft Development was seeking to tear down the existing buildings at Maryland Convent in Townsend Drive and replace it with four blocks consisting of 45 “retirement units” – 26 three-bedroom, 16 two-bedroom, and six one-bedroom flats – aimed at residents aged 55 and over.

However St Albans District and City Council refused planning permission for the scheme because it said it could not effectively restrict those living in the development to the over 55 age bracket, and because of concerns over a lack of parking.

One neighbour urged the council to reject the application for the “unsuitable, unsustainable development” on the grounds that it would “render a much-used pedestrian route to school and town unsafe, and jeopardise wildlife corridors”.

She said the developer’s claim that the proposed site was within an acceptable walking distance of local shops and services was “disingenuous”, and argued that major shops were a 20 minute walk away, while the main city station was even further.

She added: “All walking times are for the fit and healthy, not the elderly or infirm. The area is hilly and the surface of the private road poor.”

Beechcroft has appealed to the planning inspectorate after the council rejected its initial proposal to build 48 units last year.