Battling Maureen Warner is fighting on to prevent a development going ahead on the doorstep of a 25-flat retirement complex.

Even though Hertsmere council has given planning permission for the demolition of garages in Watling Street, Radlett, and the building of two two-storey live-and-work units, Maureen, 88, who lives in Slade Court is not taking it lying down.

With the aid of Hertsmere MP Oliver Dowden’s office, she has now contacted the National Planning Casework Unit in Birmingham to ask them to look at the granting of planning permission and has also been in contact with the Department for Communities and Local Government.

The unit will look at the application and the Secretary of State has the power to call it in if there is concern about it being granted. The live-and-work units will adjoin Slade Court, set back from Watling Street, where Maureen and her fellow residents, a number of whom are over 90, live quietly.

They objected to the scheme when it was first mooted on the grounds of noise and disruption, loss of privacy and the inability of the emergency services to reach them if necessary.

Aldenham parish council also lodged a strong objection to the scheme, raising concerns about the increased level of traffic facing the residents of Slade Court particularly as the live-and-work units would attract business clients and visitors.

In addition, the parish council was concerned that it was an inappropriate use of a building in an area occupied by elderly residents.

But despite the number of objections, the application got planning permission under delegated powers and Maureen has been told that work is scheduled to start in May.

Maureen said: “The residents are still very unhappy and this is important to us.”