Uproar over plans to build a square modern "monstrosity" on one of Marlow’s oldest street has prompted a campaign to save the area from "desecration".

Residents on medieval St Peter Street - once the town’s main thoroughfare - say one of the most iconic views in Marlow will be destroyed if the new four bedroom house goes ahead.

Applicants Peter and Kate Wrigley, of the Old Malt House, want the house in their grounds as a retirement home and say the modern design looks to the future instead of mimicking the past.

But neighbours - including celebrity actor Tom Chambers - have complained to the council that it will ruin the unspoilt surroundings.

Ray and Anne Spencer, who live opposite, organised a leaflet campaign against the plan which they say will "desecrate" the street.

Mrs Spencer said: "It is a monstrosity. My description of it is two shoe boxes, one on top of the other.

"Tourists in the summer pour into the street and they all stop to take pictures of the church through the gates it is just a beautiful view.

"I can’t believe they might allow this to go ahead, it’s a conservation area and a road of beautiful old buildings.

"There are several buildings that have been restored and none of them have destroyed the character of the street like this one would."

St Peter Street was the site for the old Thames ferry crossing before the construction of Marlow Bridge. It features 17 grade II listed buildings and the grade I listed Marlow Place.

There have been 30 objections to the proposal, including resident Mr Chambers who posted several pictures of the "idyllic" stretch.

The Marlow Society has also voiced its concern over the project, after organising a ‘Heritage Open Day’ centred on St Peter Street in August featuring some of its oldest buildings.

The design is for an energy efficient , eco-friendly house, which designers say reflects "a modern and sustainable way of living".

And the squared box design aims to "avoid a pastiche style" which can "fit well into an historical urban fabric".

Mr and Mrs Wrigley have lived in the Old Malt House for over 40 years, say they were shocked and upset by the reaction and want to add to Marlow’s character for future generations.

Mrs Wrigley said she initially wanted to clad the house in the same shiny material as the Bucks New University building in High Wycombe, which she called "a piece of living art".

But after considering zinc cladding, she admits they may have to alter to Buckinghamshire brick to "calm everyone down a bit".

She said: "We feel in the long run it will be beneficial to Marlow. We do not want to do anything to damage Marlow in any way.

"Marlow is representative of architecture through the ages.

"If there is nothing modern in the conservation area then in a hundred years time there will be tourists coming to Marlow and they will look at Edwardian and 1960s architecture and ask who lived here at the turn of the century.

"It is a question of taste. We have obviously upset everyone. There are those who wish to wrap Marlow in a shroud and they have a fear of change."

Wycombe District Council’s planning committee will rule on the plans at a meeting on March 18.