Community group leaders have spoken out about their ‘dismay’ and ‘frustration’ at the approval of a controversial development in Beaconsfield.

The Beaconsfield Society and Beaconsfield Old Town Residents Association (BOTRA) both objected heavily to plans to tear down garages and workshops at the rear of 36 to 56 London End and replace them with a terrace of four houses and an office building, but they were approved by South Bucks District Council’s planning committee last week.

The application was submitted by Burnham Nominees Ltd in October last year – five months after a ‘virtually identical’ application was refused on highway grounds.

But after reconsidering the application with minor changes, councillors voted almost unanimously in favour of the controversial development – with just one councillor voting against – despite hearing objections from both residents’ groups.

Cllr Sandy Saunders, chairman of BOTRA, said he was “extremely disappointed” at the decision and said there was still “huge concern” from residents about the traffic the site will generate and pedestrian safety.

He is also alarmed that none of the objections heard in the previous planning committee meeting for the first application were taken into consideration last week.

He said: “It was ruled that the committee should only consider the traffic issue, and even then, despite the relatively minor changes made in the applications about traffic, there are still huge concerns in the community about traffic flows and pedestrian safety.

“There will still be a need for dozens of cars to cross the busy A40, at a peak traffic time, to drive into the narrow and very restricted passage at the western end of the site which must also provide access for pedestrians, some children and others disabled in wheelchairs or in electric buggies needing to visit the Millbarn surgery.

“At the other opposite end of the site, the exit at the Swan Inn would have traffic running over a designated public footpath, resulting in it being potentially dangerous for infants and mothers pushing prams.”

Mr Saunders also says the development will ‘exacerbate’ the parking problems in the Old Town, predicting that there will be around 60 to 100 extra cars from office workers needing to find spaces around London End.

He said: “There was no councillor on the planning committee representing the interests of Beaconsfield residents.

“Councillors from outside Beaconsfield may not appreciate how dire the situation on parking already is and how the proposed office would make a bad situation even worse.

“The reality is that at 9am on weekdays, every parking place in the Old Town is taken by staff in the existing offices who leave their cars there until 5pm.”

Chairman of the Beaconsfield Society, Mike Elliot, said the development will be “hugely disruptive” to the town.

He said: “There will be lorries, HGVs and small vans going in and out all day, especially during the development of the site and traffic through London End will be particularly bad.

“The bottom line is, we are disappointed with decision.”