THE county's new leader has said it is “not appropriate” for him to judge proposals for the Wycombe community stadium.

Buckinghamshire County Council Leader Cllr Martin Tett, who took up the reins last week, said he must “respect” the authority of Wycombe District Council over the matter.

Both authorities are controlled by the Conservatives.

One of Cllr Tett's supporters in the Tory leadership election, where he ousted Cllr David Shakespeare, was Chiltern Valley's Cllr Bob Woollard.

Ex-BCC Chairman Cllr Woollard has been highly critical of the plans for a new 20,000 capacity stadium at Wycombe Air Park, Booker, Great Marlow.

He believes the scheme is a matter for concern for County Hall, just as much as the district council, because of the potentially huge costs for changes in road infrastructure.

But despite the senior Tory's concerns, Cllr Tett told the Free Press: “The Wycombe district stadium proposal is entirely a matter for our colleagues at WDC.

“Our role is really limited to that of a highway authority and we will be responding in terms of the traffic side of it but I wouldn't want to pass comment on the proposals brought forward by the local district council.

"That is very much their area.”

His predecessor Cllr Shakespeare, also a Wycombe District Councillor, would not answer questions about the proposal when asked by the Free Press and only said he would not be passing comment.

Cllr Tett said: “I don't think it's a question of getting involved, I think it's a question of respecting different roles.

“That is their role, a quite legitimate one, I respect that and we have roles such as highways, schools, social services and so on.

“I don't want to pass comment on policy of local district councils where that's not appropriate.”