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I FEEL very sorry for the good people of Beaconsfield. Their town and their beautiful surroundings look like being trampled on in the name of progress.

First of all, a motorway service area is being built at junction 2, sparking fears of traffic congestion as well as criminal convergence on the area for the ne'er do wells who like to meet up at 24-hour venues.

There's also the not-so small matter of ancient trees being chopped down to make may for the service area, which will in fact not service Beaconsfield but will cater for the needs of motorists passing through to other destinations.

And, to cap it all, there is the threat of a new incinerator which could come to either Wapseys Wood in Gerrards Cross or to Springfield Farm.

There is naturally an argument for waste burners because councils have to get rid of the vast piles of rubbish somewhere. But they would be saving the world at the expense of the very fabric of the beautiful South Bucks district.

Incinerators are meant to be safe, but I wouldn't want to live next door to one and risk the air pollution and the threat to my property value.

In short, it seems that Beaconsfield and Gerrards Cross are being dumped on spectacularly. It's well known that GX has more millionaires living in it than just about anywhere else in the country.

How long do you think that's going to last when this all comes to fruition?

The people of High Wycombe have made themselves conspicuous by moaning over the last few weeks because someone has invested £300m in regenerating the town. Compare their "plight" then to that of Beaconsfield folks' who are may be about to see their beloved landscape blighted forever.

Perhaps Beaconsfied and GX people moan less because they have got the cash to up sticks and move away when it all goes pear-shaped. Yes, I am being flippant, but what I do know is that a storm is coming and I only hope these lovely towns can withstand it.

11:38am Friday 11th April 2008

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