Plans for 45 new homes at a listed former brewery site were met with mixed feelings from some residents.

The Maltings in Old Amersham was once known for its malt making, and it was a home for maltsters and their families until the closure of the brewery in 1929.

Now the Grade II listed complex by Barn Meadow on School Lane is proposed to undergo major changes.

If approved, the buildings will be converted into 45 new one, two and three-bedroom homes, with parking and landscaping in the heart of Amersham.

While the developer Thomdell Developments plan to retain the main listed buildings and refurbish and convert the rest of the buildings, some demolition is proposed.

The demolished buildings “do not contribute to the setting of the listed buildings”, but would “enhance the setting” by revealing hidden historic buildings, the planning statement argued.

To date, the plans have attracted more than 30 critical letters from residents and neighbours.

A number of them expressed concerns for the rise in the number of cars on School Lane and nearby roads. 

One neighbour Janet Kenny commented on the planning application online, she said: “Having lived in the High Street for over 30 years l welcome a development of this site, which has become very run down over the years.

“However the latest plan doesn't seem to take the 'parking problem' in the town into consideration.

“l believe 45 dwellings is too many and the allocated parking too little - there will obviously be an overspill into the town which will exacerbate the increasing problem for residents to be able to park near their homes.”

Another neighbour Sarah Docwra was concerned the 78 parking spaces for 49 homes wasn’t enough, and the extra cars would park on Pondwicks, School Lane and the High Street.

She commented on the plans: “During school drop off and pick up times School Lane and Church Street are often at a stand-still now with current traffic, let alone an extra hundred cars.

“Parents also park in the High Street for these times as they cannot find a space in the above roads.”

Her concerns included any pollution of the River Misbourne by building materials, which flows through the site, and how the local GP surgery could cope with additional patients.

A 70-year-old neighbour Margot Hutcheson, who has known the river area all her life, was “very disappointed in these plans.”

She said: “There are no plans to work with the river, in fact it is totally ignored without heed of what this huge project right on its banks will mean.”