A COUNCILLOR has called for residents to work alongside planners to ensure they achieve the best possible solution, after a proposal to release five reserve sites was put forward.

Wycombe District Council’s head of planning committee, Cllr David Johncock, believes community groups all need to work together to guarantee any future developments work for that area.

Plans have been put forward to release five reserve sites across the district for development, to make sure the council can keep in line with government framework to build between 500 and 700 homes every year as part of a five year land supply.

The five areas included in the reserve list are Slate Meadow, Gomm Valley and Ashwells, Abbey Barn South and North and Terriers Farm.

The council will now be holding two public meetings to discuss the proposal further with residents.

Cllr Johncock said: “The next steps beyond the public meetings we are having over August is to actually look at how we set up community groups so we can start to address things like the infrastructure issues, which is actually across the whole district, not just local site specific.

“There will be site specific issues as well, so we will need a group looking at the larger picture and groups looking at each site.

“Yes, we will have a problem, you do get a lot of opposition it is natural.”

He added it is now the job of councillors to ensure that the public have all the information regarding the proposal.

WDC head of planning and sustainability, Penelope Tollitt, said: “According to the new framework we need to be able to show we can develop a certain amount of houses (between 500 and 700) in a five year land supply. But it is not just enough to say we can do it, we actually have to do it.

“That is why we think the time to release those reserve sites is now, in order to demonstrate we are managing that five year supply.

“If we do nothing, developers can put in applications and if we refuse it is very likely they will just be permitted on appeal.”

The first of two public meetings to discuss the proposal is today (Thursday, August 14) and the second meeting will be two weeks later on Thursday, August 28.

To attend either meeting, register by contacting Lynn Bartley on 01494 421101 or Simon Barlow on 01494 421158 or by emailing newlocalplan@wycombe.gov.uk