Landowner's swipe at parish council over £1.5million athletics track

3:00pm Monday 29th October 2012 in News By James Nadal

Some campaigners at the Little Marlow site Some campaigners at the Little Marlow site

THE owner of land in Little Marlow, which is earmarked for a £1.5million running track, has criticised the parish council's stance in opposing it.

The proposal, from Wycombe District Council, is to shift the current track at Handy Cross, High Wycombe, to land next to Westhorpe Farm.

Click HERE for background stories.

The plan, to lease the land for the track, has been opposed by a vociferous group of villagers, as well as Little Marlow Parish Council.

A previous plan to move the facilities to Hazlemere were abandoned after outcry from householders.

Landowner Norman Weiss wrote, in a letter to the parish council, and copied to planners: "It has been very disappointing to note that the parish council has decided to oppose the planing application. In the event that it does not proceed, the parish will be foregoing many benefits, including extensive and new permitted paths, cycleways, public parking and conveniences."

The land is earmarked for creating a country park. Proponents of that scheme believe the athletics presence will damage its prospects.

But Mr Weiss wrote: "Its rejection is likely to render the park an increasingly remote possibility as public finances become increasingly constrained."

Concerns felt by parish councillors and villagers include fears of traffic chaos during athletics events and the impact on Green Belt.

WDC says essential sports facilities are not deemed inappropriate for Green Belt and the land will be protected against inappropriate development.

Comments (8)

4:25pm Mon 29 Oct 12

rem708 says...

There is no way the council can afford £1.5 million so where is the money coming from?

I think it must be buried in the small print which funnily enough seems to be conveniently missing from the equation!

The running clubs won't be able to pay the lease so who is?
There is no way the council can afford £1.5 million so where is the money coming from? I think it must be buried in the small print which funnily enough seems to be conveniently missing from the equation! The running clubs won't be able to pay the lease so who is? rem708

5:45pm Mon 29 Oct 12

geoffW says...

"lease the land ... "?

How much will Mr Weiss miss out on?
"lease the land ... "? How much will Mr Weiss miss out on? geoffW

8:00pm Mon 29 Oct 12

Darren Hayday says...

Mr Weiss would love to sell his land at this rate - no wonder he is upset... Keep up the fight Little Marlow!!
Mr Weiss would love to sell his land at this rate - no wonder he is upset... Keep up the fight Little Marlow!! Darren Hayday

1:13am Tue 30 Oct 12

J B Blackett says...

Darren Hayday wrote:
Mr Weiss would love to sell his land at this rate - no wonder he is upset... Keep up the fight Little Marlow!!
A word to the Weiss's should be sufficient
[quote][p][bold]Darren Hayday[/bold] wrote: Mr Weiss would love to sell his land at this rate - no wonder he is upset... Keep up the fight Little Marlow!![/p][/quote]A word to the Weiss's should be sufficient J B Blackett

10:04am Tue 30 Oct 12

sparky49 says...

First we had Marlow FC going there. Chairman upset because he missed out on a pay day, now a landowner upset because he might miss out on a payday. Don't you just love them. Community facilities? My arse, more like how much am I going to get. Leave Little Marlow as it is. Leave the running track as it is (improve it, it would be cheaper). Alternatively why not put on the kingsmead.
First we had Marlow FC going there. Chairman upset because he missed out on a pay day, now a landowner upset because he might miss out on a payday. Don't you just love them. Community facilities? My arse, more like how much am I going to get. Leave Little Marlow as it is. Leave the running track as it is (improve it, it would be cheaper). Alternatively why not put on the kingsmead. sparky49

6:04pm Tue 30 Oct 12

DonRockell says...

£1.5m wont even cover the cost of the car park so I guise that the land owner wants to get the work done to make a bit on the side and in the end he gets the lot for himself and can charge for its use.
£1.5m wont even cover the cost of the car park so I guise that the land owner wants to get the work done to make a bit on the side and in the end he gets the lot for himself and can charge for its use. DonRockell

6:07pm Tue 30 Oct 12

DonRockell says...

DonRockell wrote:
£1.5m wont even cover the cost of the car park so I guise that the land owner wants to get the work done to make a bit on the side and in the end he gets the lot for himself and can charge for its use.
P.S. of cause the WDC will say it wont affect anyone or the country side - what they should say is - you're getting weather you want or not. IT wont affect us as its not any where near us and we've already sold the Handy X site so tough luck.
[quote][p][bold]DonRockell[/bold] wrote: £1.5m wont even cover the cost of the car park so I guise that the land owner wants to get the work done to make a bit on the side and in the end he gets the lot for himself and can charge for its use.[/p][/quote]P.S. of cause the WDC will say it wont affect anyone or the country side - what they should say is - you're getting weather you want or not. IT wont affect us as its not any where near us and we've already sold the Handy X site so tough luck. DonRockell

11:24pm Tue 30 Oct 12

BOOKERite says...

What the planners of WDC want is to destroy as much of the green belt as they can get away with. Who needs a 'country park' when Wycombe is surrounded by natural countryside.

I urge the residents of Little Marlow to fight this issue as we did against the building of a green belt destroying stadium at Booker. As would have been the case with the stadium, the only people who benefit are the developers.

I agree that a new running track is as essential as a new sports centre, but keep it all Handy Cross and forget about building another supermarket and more office space on the site.
What the planners of WDC want is to destroy as much of the green belt as they can get away with. Who needs a 'country park' when Wycombe is surrounded by natural countryside. I urge the residents of Little Marlow to fight this issue as we did against the building of a green belt destroying stadium at Booker. As would have been the case with the stadium, the only people who benefit are the developers. I agree that a new running track is as essential as a new sports centre, but keep it all Handy Cross and forget about building another supermarket and more office space on the site. BOOKERite

Comments are closed on this article.

click2find

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree