Plans to build more than 2,000 new homes in Princes Risborough were fiercely opposed at a packed public meeting last Thursday (July 21).

Around 250 people turned up to Princes Risborough Community Centre for the launch of the Rescue Risborough campaign by the Risborough Area Residents Association (RARA), who last week branded the proposed development by Wycombe District Council “unsustainable”.

The controversial draft Local Plan, which was revealed exclusively in the BFP, showed the town would take on around 2,600 new homes by 2033 if given the green light.

There are 3,500 homes in the town already, according to the separate draft Princes Risborough Town Plan, so adding the new homes would almost double the size of the market town over the next 17 years.

The group also slammed the £53 million relief road which would serve the development, cutting through existing residential areas and part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), saying it would not resolve traffic problems in the town and “take passing trade away” from the town centre.

It believes 2,600 homes is “too many” and is calling on the council to “reconsider” the option of building 1,000 new homes with a proportion of affordable housing “reserved for local people to buy”.

Speaking at the meeting, RARA member Will Streule, a former town councillor, told the audience the district council had not made enough provision for the influx of new homes.

He said: “The district council has no plans for a new GP surgery and no plans to facilitate the recruitment of GPs, no plans for a new secondary school and no plans to increase grammar school capacity in Aylesbury and High Wycombe.

“The relief road would use up the majority of the infrastructure budget and would act merely as a service road for the new development.

“This means it would not actually resolve problems at either end of the A4010. The road would split the new town in half, cause damage to the AONB and Green Belt and take passing trade away from the town centre.”

Cllr Bill Bendyshe-Brown, who represents The Risboroughs for Buckinghamshire County Council and attended the meeting, said he had stepped down from Wycombe District Council because he did not agree with its expansion plans for Princes Risborough.

He said: “The district has expanded very considerably over the last 10 years but the numbers have not risen in Risborough.

“Employment opportunities are very few due to the constraints of the A4010, the railway and access to the motorway.

“2,600 has been foisted on us by Wycombe District Council. It is not possible to take the number being proposed.”

The group said concerns from the audience at the meeting included fears about an increase in the crime rate, whether the new homes would be affordable and available for local people, the lack of employment opportunities and “harm to the local landscape and character of the town” and surrounding villages.

Mr Streule added: “We need to promote a workable solution. There’s a shortage of homes for local people and an ageing population.

“We have been told rampant speculative development will occur without a plan but it is important we do not bow down to this threat – we feel the town will be ruined anyway by this badly thought-out plan.”

Following the meeting, RARA's newly-elected chairman Linda Cannon Clegg said: “The purpose of our campaign is to get the best possible deal for Princes Risborough and this groundswell of local support will really help us. 

“Going forward, we plan to submit a response to Wycombe District Council’s draft new Local Plan by the August 8 deadline, challenging the proposal to build 2,600 homes in Risborough.

“We are urging the residents of Risborough to do the same as individual responses are absolutely vital.

 "We also hope to work closely with Wycombe District Council to help shape the development of this area for the benefit of existing and future residents.”