A development of 87 new homes has been given planning permission during a tense Council meeting despite receiving 118 objections.

The plans, put forward by Hawridge Strategic Land Ltd, for Tralee Farm in Hazlemere near High Wycombe were approved by members of the Strategic Sites Planning Committee by a majority of seven to two during a four-hour meeting.

The controversial proposals include demolishing the existing house at Number 20 on Wycombe Road to create a new access road for the site.

Under the plans, existing woodland to the northern corner of the site is to be retained as open space, while an orchard will also be reinstated, and a small play area added.

The new development, which also includes 201 parking spaces, is situated a short walk away from another proposed housing development applied for by Bellway, which has also been called into the Committee by local councillors.

The proposals have drawn opposition from neighbours, Holmer Green Village Society and Sarah Green, the MP for Chesham and Amersham, while 10 people said they supported the application.

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Reasons for objections include development on the Green Belt, overpopulation, traffic and safety concerns, environmental impacts and the merging of Holmer Green into Hazlemere.

A previous application for permission to develop 101 homes on the site was refused by the planning inspector and Buckinghamshire Council in 2022.

During an impassioned speech to the Committee, Independent Councillor for Hazlemere Ed Gemmell slammed his hand on the desk as he claimed that the plan did not take environmental issues into account.

Cllr Gemmel claimed that the considerations of climate change have not been properly addressed since the previous planning application was put forward for the site.

He said: “The original plan came forward to make as much money for the developer as possible.

“Then we had two documents come forward – the development brief and the Hazlemere Neighbourhood Plan, both asking for layout and orientation for climate change to be taken into account – and nothing has changed.”

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The councillor claimed that the weekend after the documents came out, orchards on the site were ripped out.

He said: “At nine o’clock in the morning, I was in front of the diggers as they trashed one of those orchards… That is the sort of developer we are dealing with.”

The councillor was cut off by Committee Chair Alan Turner, who warned him not to stray from matters related to the application.

Susan Jamson, an immediate neighbour to the development site, was also cut off by the Chair as she continued to speak beyond her allotted 90 seconds.

She told members that she has a 31ft high by 36ft wide brick wall just four metres from her fence, despite planning documents promising a “sensitive” boundary.

She told members: “This is new to anything this Committee or inspector looked at last time. This huge brick wall is the opposite of treating this boundary as sensitive.”

Part of Susan’s house is bordered by a car park, while there is an open orchard on the other side.

She told the Committee: “I have got a child with Down’s Syndrome who is vulnerable. Thames Valley Police have said three times that both these features are high risk for crime and should be avoided and I have got both.”

The Conservative Councillor for Chess Valley Gareth Williams claimed many residents nearby the development site are opposed to the plans.

He said: “I have spoken to hundreds of residents in Hazlemere and in Holmer Green. I have visited the site, been in the back gardens and there is a real strength of feeling that the site should never have been released from the Green Belt.”

He added: “The Belt is particularly there for separation. This plan effectively drives a coach and horses between the separation of the two settlements of Hazlemere and Holmer Green.”