Residents say they will not be "walked all over" as they battle a housing developer’s plans to build more than 120 homes in Abbots Langley.

Watford MP Richard Harrington chaired a residents meeting last week in which villagers voiced their concerns about Taylor Wimpey’s proposals to build homes on land off Woodside Road.

Paul Johnson, a resident of Orchard Avenue, said the majority of the 100 residents in attendance were against the plans.

He said villagers have drawn inspiration from Farm Terrace allotment holders - who successfully took Watford Borough Council to the High Court - as they prepare their own battle.

Mr Johnson said: "We have formed a committee and we will be launching a petition, as nearly everyone is against this - it shouldn’t be allowed.

"I wouldn’t say we are confident but if you don’t try you don’t succeed. But we look at the people who fought against the [Watford Health Campus] allotments who have won a reprieve." 

The proposed development site is currently an agricultural field used for grazing and comprises an area in the region of 10.5 acres. 

Taylor Wimpey has said it would make land to the north of the site available to Hertfordshire County Council to build a new primary school should Three Rivers District Council approve its plans. 

Mr Johnson said the developer has "failed to listen to residents" about their concerns.

He added: "We feel the land is being removed for a development that was originally going to be 100 homes and is now 143, which is too densified for the bottom of a busy country lane.

"Taylor Wimpey has also offered this land for a school - but there are currently no plans for a school, so where will the children go? And it will cause havoc on the surrounding roads."

Mr Harrington sided with residents about the scale of the plans.

He said: "I understand their concerns. If the plans are for more than 120 homes, that’s far too many. It’s too dense.

"The decisions that need to be made are; whether the land should be released at all and, if so, to what level and for how many homes."

A planning application has not yet been submitted by Taylor Wimpey.

In a statement, Taylor Wimpey said the site was identified in the Three Rivers Allocations Plan, with an independent inspector stating the site was suitable for housing and a school.

It added: "The Highways Authority has indicated the road network can accommodate the extra traffic generated by the development, and our proposals will include a number of highways improvements, including a roundabout to serve the development and future school.

"A public consultation event  held in October was attended by 83 people. At the event the proposals for 123 new homes were on display. Following feedback from this event, the proposals are currently being refined, however the final proposal is likely to be for a reduced number of dwellings.

"Taylor Wimpey owns the land identified as the school site, which is likely to be brought forward in the future by Hertfordshire County Council, however, it will be the subject of a separate land transaction or the council could choose to exercise its powers to compulsory purchase the land."