RE: MARLOW Football Club’s plan to move from its ground in Oak Tree Road, Marlow, to the Little Marlow Gravel pits in the Green Belt. This would allow 93 homes to be built at its current site. Several influential protest groups have banded together to ask Wycombe District Council to turn down the proposals, and a decision is likely to be reached on the long-running saga by the end of the month.

THE Marlow Football Club places the need for additional facilities at the centre of their need to move to the Green Belt.

If additional facilities are needed then why did they sell their training ground approximately 20 years ago?

It was pointed out to them at the time this may be a backwards step, but the attraction of earning money from the development of their training ground and the cash this would bring in was obviously too big a draw to dissuade them.

The development of the Green Belt site at the Westhorpe site is totally inappropriate. The harm to the local environment is unacceptable and I cannot see any ‘special circumstance’ that could possibly allow this development to go through.

What happens if, in another 20 years time, Marlow Football Club has another good offer for their grounds? Does this mean they move again to another Green Belt site? Where will it end? No, they made their decision and if they wish to move then find a site that does not harm our local environment.

This brings me to my second point, the development of the present ground.

This is a green space area surrounded by housing. This has had, as stated above, some considerable development already. To build more housing would be a disaster to the social and environmental structure of that part of town. This development is not part of the Local Plan policy and if it is allowed to go ahead it will show a dismissive attitude to local needs.

If Marlow Football Club wants to show real concern and consideration for the people of Marlow, why don’t they follow their benefactor’s lead? Leave the ground as it was intended, as a green space for the benefit of the local people, and find an area that they can develop which will give years of support and encouragement to local sporting talent and football supporters.

Janet Pritchard, Daw’s End, Marlow Common, Marlow