Residents in Childs Hill have made a last-ditch attempt to protect a former vicarage from demolition as part of plans to build a new care home.

Developer Central and Cecil Housing Trust (CCHT) has applied to Barnet Council to demolish Church Walk House, an elderly care home in Church Walk, and replace it with a three-storey home.

The plans include flattening a vicarage on the site, which dates back to the 1850s, that residents insist should be protected for its historical importance.

English Heritage is now considering an application to list the building and will provide a report to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in due course.

Harriet Green, whose garden in Prospect Road faces the care home, said: “We all want to save a very important building in the area – it’s a unique building. It will be devastating to the area to lose it.”

The housing trust submitted a new application to replace Church Walk House in November after it had to withdraw its original application due to missing documents required by law.

A CCHT spokesman said: “We have throughout the planning process responded to residents’ questions constructively and will continue to engage with local people.

“We remain committed to providing affordable extra care housing for local people in Barnet.”