A SENIOR Conservative has dramatically quit the party this afternoon saying the Wycombe Air Park stadium proposal is a “complete betrayal of our rural heritage”.

Councillor Dennis Green, representing Princes Risborough, said there is “internal warfare” among Tories at WDC which is “tearing the party apart”.

The former district council chairman said it is no longer the same party he joined 30 years ago.

He sent his explosive letter of resignation to Wycombe District Council Leader Cllr Lesley Clarke this afternoon.

He wrote: “Having served loyally as a Conservative councillor for The Risboroughs for over 30 years it is with great sadness that I find the current situation within the local party utterly intolerable.

“The current Conservative internal warfare at WDC is, in my opinion, tearing the party apart.

“The apparent determination to press ahead with plans for a massive housing development (as part of the proposed stadium project) across swathes of Greenbelt/AONB is a complete betrayal of our rural heritage and would cost millions of pounds at a time when front line services are under huge financial pressure, not to mention the precedent this could set elsewhere in the district.”

Cllr Green, who also serves on Princes Risborough Town Council, outlined other factors in his decision to quit.

“There has also been a growing amount of anti-Risborough rhetoric coming from some Conservatives at WDC recently, which is simply not acceptable.

“I am further dismayed at the decision of the Conservative ruling group at BCC to propose the closure of the Day Centre in Princes Risborough.

“Whilst the huge public outcry that ensued has, it seems, caused a rethink at County Hall it is by no means certain that the Day Centre has a secure future.

“Despite early promises, WDC support for assisting PRTC to purchase the Molins Sports Ground in Monks Risborough appears to have faded and I have to say that I doubt their intentions are fulsome.”

He also slammed the “complete lack of understanding” of Tories at national level over High Speed 2.

He continued: “However, it is the activities of Conservative councillors in Princes Risborough which particularly highlight the current malaise of the local Conservative Party.

“Their persistent efforts to undermine the Town Council (openly campaigning against the trial one-way system, even though they voted in favour of it) have now culminated in their forming an anti Town Council group of Conservatives to contest all 13 seats in the forthcoming local elections, in an attempt to bring an end to the independence of the Town Council which it has enjoyed since the formation of parish councils in 1894.

“This cynical attempt to install party political control at parish/town level is totally abhorrent and I cannot support it.

“I do not believe that a party political Town Council would be in the best interests of the residents of Princes Risborough.

“The last straw has to be their latest issue of 'In touch' in which they unjustly claim credit for resolving local issues, when in reality the problems are being solved by others in the Community. "They should hang their heads in shame.

“This is not the Conservative Party I joined so many, many years ago.

"Therefore, after long and careful consideration it is with much regret that I must tender my resignation from the Conservative Party.”

He will continue in his role as an Independent councillor.