A CAMPAIGN group against plans for a new 'community stadium' in Booker says a public consultation was 'skewed' and it will stage a demonstration later this month.

Wycombe District Council yesterday released a 145-page report into its findings from a six-week consultation over controversial plans for a 17,500-20,000 capacity stadium and sports village.

Of the 8,376 responses received by the authority, 74 per cent backed a community stadium at the Wycombe Air Park site, according to the report.

However, almost half of those supporting the Wycombe Air Park site in Booker live outside the district, the report states.

A spokesman for GASP – a coalition of Groups Against the Stadium – said it was “shocked and appalled” by the council's headline figures.

The group said the consultation was "flawed and unrepresentative" and pointed to a recent poll on the Bucks Free Press website, which indicated most were against the 'Booker bid'.

The campaigners added that of 358 consultation papers collected in Lane End, 86 per cent wanted Wycombe Wanderers and London Wasps to stay at Adams Park.

GASP complain that “students were given consultation forms and encourage to vote in favour of the new stadium so that they could get more sports facilities”.

The group also points out that Wycombe Wanderers and London Wasps, as well as ex-player Lawrence Dallaglio, had emailed people advising them on how to fill out the consultation document (see link below).

The campaigners “invite the community to come to Wycombe District Council’s offices in High Wycombe on 17 January at 5.30pm to demonstrate to the councillors that the community is not in favour of the stadium proposals no matter what their skewed consultation says”.

GASP said it would prepare a full response to the consultation results, but listed other initial concerns.

It noted the use of "opaque language", such as 'enabling development' was used instead of "up to 2,000 houses would have to be built on Green Belt land to pay for it".

It also listed concerns over the length of the consultation and questioned whether checks had been carried out to ensure responses were genuine.

Wanderers and Wasps have also reacted to the consultation results (see link below).

See link below for the council's summary of the results and our full analysis.