A DEVELOPER has applied for permission to turn an industrial yard into 40 homes, meaning the remaining businesses on the site will be forced to leave the area.

Saunderton Estates Ltd, a subsidiary of Dandara Ltd, has applied to build two, three and four bed homes at West Yard Industrial Estate in Slough Lane, Saunderton.

The site is opposite the village's railway station and behind The Golden Cross on the A4010.

It is currently used for light industrial work but many of 23 units are now vacant.

One business owner, who did not wish to be named, is moving from the site to Radnage as a result. He said: "Put it this way, I am having to move whether I like it or not.

"I have got to be out of here by the end of May. I don't want to move but I have got no choice."

He said: "There are only about four or five of us left in the yard. Every one else has gone.

"I have been here nearly 30 years."

Tony Waliczek from A P W Coachworks is moving his business to Bridgend in Wales on June 2.

He said: "There is nothing here I can afford. It is not good but what else can I do?"

Dandara was established in 1988 and is one of the UK’s largest independent property development companies.

This application was prepared by Daniel Watney LLP on behalf of the company.

If planning approval is given by Wycombe District Council the current buildings would be demolished and 40 new homes across private and affordable tenures would be built.

The site falls within the Green Belt and Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) with residential accommodation lying opposite.

The planning application says that WDC had concluded the residential development of the site should be acceptable in principle if it had no further impact on green belt land and that it was compatible with AONB policy as long as it caused no harm to the character and beauty of the landscape.

It adds the amount of available industrial and warehouse premises in Wycombe District has increased dramatically over the last five years despite an overall reduction in land used for such purposes, following planning permissions being granted for alternative uses. The adopted Core Strategy, it says, recognises the district has more employment land than it actually needs to meet projected medium to long term demand.

The application added: "The site is not currently viable due to the high number of vacant and in-arrear units present not generating required rental levels and the insurmountable constraints of a site located in the Green Belt / AONB; in close proximity to residential properties and suffering from severe access limitations; meaning that even if redeveloped, the site would not be attractive to potential tenants regardless of the actual quality and specification of the units."