WYCOMBE district councillors are to be congratulated for comprehensively rejecting Waitrose's current proposals for Marlow at the special development control committee meeting in Marlow on Monday.

It was particularly gratifying to see the resolute opposition by Marlow's district councillors.

The fundamental problem with Waitrose's plans is that the store which they have proposed is simply too big for Marlow. It was therefore disturbing to hear the council's head of urban design explain to the meeting that a store of this size had been the size always envisaged when the current Local Plan was formulated.

The Local Plan merely states that an extension to the existing Waitrose store is the preferred location of increased retailing provision on the Riley Road site. There is no reference whatsoever to its demolition and replacement with a store of a specified size.

If the council's officers have been negotiating with Waitrose on the basis of stores of the size that the head of urban design stated to the meeting had always been envisaged, this would solve many puzzles. It explains why Waitrose presented three differently sited stores of almost identical size to the bizarre Waitrose PR event in Marlow 18 months ago.

This strange selling event, staffed by Waitrose's advisers, was claimed to have been a public consultation exercise.

Can the council's officers explain the basis of the head of urban design's statement to the meeting and the discrepancy with the Local Plan?

Mike Post, (Marlow Group), Marlow