25 signatures reached
To: Wycombe District Council
Save Chilterns AONB
Wycombe District Council is proposing extending the hamlet of Saunderton five fold across both the Green Belt and the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. If allowed to go ahead it will compromise both the Green Belt and the AONB and cut a highly visible swath across high quality countryside.
Why is this important?
If this development is allowed to go ahead unchallenged it will declare an open season for developers encroaching on protected land.
Part of the development is classified as brown fields as it is on the site of the Molins factory in Haw Lane. This was originally a wartime dispersal factory which was placed here with the promise that when it was demolished it would be returned to farmland- a promise that has conveniently been ignored. The factory was situated so that it was not easily visible from the road and rail links through the valley.
The new proposal, however, covers far more than the Molins site. It takes a sweep up almost to the crest of Slough Hill, one of a ridge of hills forming the south side of the Risborough gap. It will be highly visible and despoil what is at present and undeveloped area. The hamlet of Saunderton will become a dormitory village.
The most concerning part of this proposal is that this is within the Chilterns AONB. Of all the AONB in the country, the Chilterns, just 30 miles from London, is likely to be under most pressure. Other AONB within the London commuter belt (such as those in Berkshire) will also come under sustained threat. A strong swell of disagreement with these plans would warn other developers and councils from making further outrageous proposals.
