The decision to release five Green Field sites for development has been called in to a council review committee.

Last week, Wycombe District Council’s cabinet agreed to release five sites to make way for housing developments.

Yet the controversial decision to release the sites in order to fill the council’s housing quota, which falls between 500 and 700 new homes a year, has been heavily criticised by politicians and residents.

Councillor Trevor Snaith, deputy leader of the district’s Liberal Democrats, is calling for the cabinet’s decision to be reviewed.

The representative for Ryemead said: “This is one of the biggest decisions that we have taken in a long time.

“Previously to this it was whether we should get rid of council housing, or whether we should get a sports centre or not.

“But this one has the potential to destroy our town totally with overdevelopment and the last green spaces disappearing.”

Councillor Snaith said it was important to have the necessary infrastructure in place, such as accessible roads, schools and medical services, before developments are approved.

As a result, he has called on other politicians who oppose the release of the sites to demand the decision to be reviewed.

The reasons why the reserve sites decision has been called in are detailed as: “The cabinet has not made a robust, transparent and well-founded decision based on the degree of opposition and feedback from consultations with residents and other groups.”

Further reasons for the call in are that: “The cabinet decision will involve the council in considerable expenditure and expose it to considerable risk.

“There is no robust business plan or performance indicators defined that the council and members may assess delivery against.

“As a new local plan will not be available at this stage, members and residents need to see a business plan on the infrastructures and services we need across the town (not just the reserved sites) to ensure that the sites fit in to the local area.”

By calling this in, the cabinet’s decision could be reviewed by Wycombe District Council’s Improvement and Review Commission.