Plans for 35 homes, a cafe and commercial premises on the site of a former landmark hotel in Tring High Street have been shot down by the town’s leaders.
Tring Town Council heard at a meeting on Monday that proposals for the Rose and Crown have been changed four times since they were first submitted.
Developers want to turn the Grade II-listed property, which is now standing empty, into sheltered housing units for people aged 55 and older.
But the meeting heard that the number of parking spaces in the blueprint has been cut from about 55 to just one for each new home.
Mayor Nick Hollinghurst said: “I do like the idea of sheltered accommodation rather than open market units – but old people are getting younger these days.”
He said couples in their late 50s are likely to have a car each and that there are no spaces listed for people who will work at the site.
Councillor Michael Hicks added: “If it really is sheltered accommodation, where are the visitor car parking spaces for the doctors and nurses to come out?”