A new housing development in a south Bucks village has been slammed by the village’s parish council.

Developers are planning to launch a new housing project in the summer on the site of the former Holy Cross Convent School in Chalfont St Peter, which is close to the greenbelt land at Gold Hill Common.

It will see 177 properties being built on the land by housebuilders Charles Church, who say the new homes are “much needed” in the area.

The move has been heavily criticised by Chalfont St Peter Parish Council, whose High Court appeal to continue using the site as a school in 2014 failed.

Cllr Richard Allen, former chairman of the council, said: “We fought a very long battle over this site because there was some dispute over an area of playing fields.

“Unfortunately we lost and as a result, the villagers lost significant amenities which could have housed a school and provided a housing development.”

He told the BFP the council, who put forward an alternative plan for the site which would have seen the school remain, was never opposed to housing in the area but said that the development was “poorly planned” and did not address issues brought up by the council in a meeting with the developers.

He said: “The permeability of the site does not help to improve traffic conditions in the village and the issues relating to school provisions have not been addressed by developers either.

“It is a poorly planned development in the middle of our village which we tried everything we could to improve and were ignored at every stage.”

Speaking about whether there had been a consultation with residents or the council prior to the development being put forward, cllr Allen said: “No-one was consulted. The development was forced on the village. No one listened to anything anyone [from the village or council] put forward.

“The developers did their own consultation in a few of the roads around the area but we never saw the results.

“We met with them but they had no interest in co-operating with the parish council at all. They weren’t prepared to take on board any of our concerns and issues.”

Representatives also said the former chapel will be refurbished for future use as a community building “to benefit both new and existing residents”.

A spokesman at Charles Church refused to comment on the matter.