As many as 46 new homes could be accommodated on the site of a former Harpenden hotel, it has been revealed.

Harpenden House Hotel was closed and sold to Fairview Homes earlier this year and despite strenuous local efforts to keep the site for hotel use, campaigners believe a planning application could be imminent.

Save the Harpenden House Hotel was set up by residents John Hansen and Hillary Taylor because of concern about the loss of the only remaining hotel in the town and fears that more housing will exacerbate infrastructure problems and add pressure for hotel facilities to be re-established elsewhere.

A petition has been set up which has already been signed by 2,000 local residents.

But on the Fairview website, the housing company says the site could accommodate up to 46 homes and in correspondence with the campaigners county Cllr David Williams said that he understood the firm had held a pre-application consulation with district council planning officers “about a scheme that reflects this aspiration.”

A spokesperson for Save the Harpenden House Hotel said: “If there really is to be no hotel at the site, alternative and repeat suggestions include other uses that benefit the local community with one potential being a secondary or sixth form school or facility to help reduce the looming secondary school place shortage.”