The future of a country park in Marlow is set to be decided by council bosses next week.

Wycombe District Councillors will decide whether to formalise Little Marlow Lakes Country Park’s status as a country park, under the 1968 Countryside Act, to protect it for public use in a bid to take “visitor pressure” away from Burnham Beeches.

If councillors decide not to go ahead, it could lead to a delay in the Local Plan.

The 1968 Countryside Act provided power for local councils to provide country parks. The land does not need to be in their ownership and providing for a park does not incur any financial or other obligations upon a council.

It does, however, require a “clear resolution, beyond the designation of a site in a Local Plan”.

WDC’s cabinet is being asked to delegate the delivery of the country park to the head of community service in consultation with the cabinet member for community services.

The proposal for the area to become a country park was first made over a decade ago.

Bosses said that work on the Local Plan and Natural England identified that Burnham Beeches – a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a National Nature Reserve and a Special Area of Conservation – is “subject to increasing levels of visitor pressure”.

As a result, the council wants to increase accessibility to Little Marlow Lakes Country Park to “off-set impacts” on Burnham Beeches.

A decision is expected to be made at WDC’s cabinet meeting on Monday.