Residents want assurances more and more of Oxhey Park will not be eaten away by the new Link Road and Health Campus development.

Friends of Oxhey Park chairman Sandy Belloni said the group has been told without consultation the car park at the former Irish Club will not be put back - and he fears what else might be lost.

He said: "The council has told us, that because of the new road, the park wouldn’t house a car park anymore in that area. And that was it - Oxhey Park car park goes with no consultation. We won’t get it back.

"We feel like our opinions and our thoughts are not seriously considered.

"The peace, tranquillity and whole nature of Oxhey Park will be dramatically affected by the new road. I’m a bit fatalistic about it, but I think being more interested in commercial than sustainable that’s wrong and not thinking about the future carefully enough."

Mr Belloni said it is accepted the new road is needed but it will cost about 40 per cent of the dog walking area it will be situated in.

He continued: "We were not happy the road went through the park, but we have to accept that it is the most direct route to Watford General Hospital, which is fair enough. It has to be done.

"We have had quite a long battle to get the road pushed back as far as possible and have the least impact on the park. Originally, the drawings were for the road to go diagonally across to the new cycle bridge.

"That area of the park is mostly used by dog walkers. There is now going to be a hedge and a wooden fence along the roadside to stop the dogs running into the new road.

"After it’s done it probably means we will end up losing about 40 per cent of that area."

At a Watford Borough Council cabinet meeting this week it was revealed the first shovel would be out in the ground in April.

Addressing concerns from Labour councillor Nigel Bell on how much of the park taken up during the construction of the new Link Road would be returned, the Elected Mayor Dorothy Thornhill reiterated that the least possible amount of parkland was being appropriated.

Mayor Thornhill said: "People in Watford understand we also need this blue light road to meet ambulance times and facilitate access to what will essentially be a new neighbourhood in 10 to 15 years time."