A councillor has slammed the town’s mayor as "uncaring" over her celebration of the closure of an allotment site.

Earlier today, a High Court judge ruled that Farm Terrace Allotments, in Occupation Road, Watford would be closed following a four-year battle between campaigners and a council.

READ MORE: 'The odds were always stacked against us': Campaigners lose four-year turf battle

Save Farm Terrace campaigners took the case to High Court three times but were defeated by the communities secretary Sajid Javid, who had granted Watford Borough Council permission to build on the land.

Watford’s elected mayor Dorothy Thornhill took to twitter to celebrate the decision, describing it as a “great news”.

But Labour councillor Nigel Bell said she is an “uncaring mayor" with "no plans for a hospital”.

He said: “This is a very sad day, not just for the Farm Terrace allotment holders, but for the rest of west Watford and the whole town.

“The allotment holders have stood firm and taken a determined stand for a just cause against all the odds. They had a wealthy developer, a council administration and elected mayor against them.

“They have had to be strong-willed and principled despite the personal criticism they have faced.

“A historic part of west Watford, going back to the 19th Century, is to be swept away by an uncaring mayor with no plans for a new hospital decided.”

He said the Health Campus Scheme would have gone ahead with or without the land, so did not understand why the council and mayor had not tried to compromise with the plot holders.

But mayor Thornhill said it was “good news” for the town after “years of delays”.

She said: “I am delighted that the High Court gave the go-ahead for the Farm Terrace site to be used for the Health Campus scheme - including the expansion of Watford General Hospital. This is good news for our hospital and good news for our town.

“I have always believed that Watford and south west Herts deserve a first class hospital, and I have taken difficult decisions to make that possible - including providing land for the hospital to expand and constructing a new road to improve access and speed up ambulance journeys to A&E.

“With the NHS now committed to developing Watford General, they will now have the land they need to expand the hospital to ensure it is able to cope with the demands of the future.”