LIBERAL Democrats will dismiss official instructions on talking to residents about the proposed community stadium and will not be 'gagged', Cllr Steve Guy has declared.

Cllr Guy and his party will ignore council bosses' advice that commenting publicly on the project is 'inappropriate' after the consultation closed.

Councillors and officials have been instructed to send a standard letter as a response to all enquiries about the hotly disputed stadium proposal for Wycombe Wanderers and Wasps.

Wycombe District Council said it was purely to help members “if they found it useful.”

Cllr Steve Guy, leader of the Lib Dems at Wycombe District Council, said he will continue speaking out against the plan.

He dismissed the 'members update' e-mail from WDC Chief Executive Karen Saterford, saying he will not be 'gagged'.

“We're not taking any notice at all, they're not telling us what we can and can't do.

“As the official opposition it is our job to scrutinise and criticise when we think appropriate and we won't be told what we can and can't say about it.

“We have always felt as a group that it's our duty to reflect the views of residents and with the overwhelming part of the postbag full of people who are against it, it is our job to reflect those concerns.

“People are quite rightly asking: how can you spend money on this when you been asked to cut back as a Council?”

The e-mail tells members it “would be inappropriate to engage in detailed debate” while analysis of the consultation takes place.

It sets out a “protocol” for staff which “involves a single approach to how the council communicates in relation to the stadium project”.

WDC spokesman Becky Wotherspoon said: “The intention was never to prevent individual councillors from expressing their personal views and we have clarified to members this standard letter was provided to them only to help them deal with their correspondence if they found it useful.

“Due to the nature of this consultation, the council and councillors received numerous calls and emails asking specific questions, which continued after the consultation had closed.”

Some questions from residents “involved quite technical matters" and advice was given to all councillors directing them to the website where answers could be found, she said.

She added: “In order to help further, a statement was prepared which could be issued if members found it helpful, acknowledging the enquiry but stating that due to the consultation being closed it was inappropriate for WDC to comment publicly on this matter.”

Cllr Guy also hit out at the treatment of the gliding club at Wycombe Air Park – the preferred site of the clubs.

“They just feel that they are being run over and that nobody cares about them,” he said after taking an “amazing” flight in one of the gliders.

Club members told Cllr Guy and fellow Lib Dem Cllr Julia Wassell they will be forced out if the stadium was built at WAP, ending forever their 68 year association with the site.