ANOTHER senior Tory has attacked plans for a community stadium at Wycombe Air Park, saying he does not want Wycombe to become 'another Reading'.

Cllr Richard Pushman has followed fellow Buckinghamshire County Councillor Bob Woollard in condemning the scheme for a new ground for Wasps and Wycombe Wanderers at the Booker, Great Marlow, site.

Cllr Pushman is among the most senior Tory figures in the county, having twice been Chairman of Buckinghamshire County Council and Chairman of Wycombe District Council.

He said: “For six elections both as an independent and Conservative I have always vowed my intent to protect the Green Belt and area of outstanding natural beauty.

“I feel very strongly about it.

“It could have a major, dramatic effect in that area.”

Cllr Pushman is a board member of The Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

He attacked public spending on investigating the project.

“I'm not very happy about it and haven't been for some time,” he said.

He dismissed the argument from council bosses that the £750,000 earmarked for investigating the project was not council taxpayers' money.

“It's a lot of money. And I'm not convinced it's not council taxpayers' money because it's so called capital.

“Council taxpayers own the capital as well, it doesn't belong to councillors or indeed the council.”

“Those who are for it argue it will be a tremendous asset and have regional importance and will put Wycombe on the map regionally.

“But I don't know people in Wycombe want to be put on the map regionally.

"I'm certainly not in favour of it, I don't want it to become another Reading.”

He said the Madejski stadium in Reading, which has been cited as an example to follow, suffers its own traffic problems.

Cllr Pushman said: “I can't remember a more controversial plan and I've been on the council 24 years.”

He said the road infrastructure in and around the area “just can not cope” with the extra traffic from match days and the approximate 600 new houses which would be built as 'enabling development'.

In the 1960s South Bucks and the Chilterns were “pretty well sterilised in terms of excessive development”, he said, and north of the county was designated for building more homes as party of the county's plans.

BCC has not got the cash to spend on new road links, he said.

He added the Conservatives were 'united in looking at what the possibilities are' when asked if a split was emerging.