A PLAN that would have seen 500 houses built on Wycombe Marsh has been thrown out.

Wycombe District Council rejected an application to build on the 12 acre site of the old sewage treatment works in Bassetsbury Lane after members voiced concerns over the lack of adequate transport, green spaces and affordable housing.

Wycombe Marsh is an area pencilled in for development in the Local Plan 2011 and the site was divided into two large phases to be developed separately.

Phase one, which will provide retail warehousing, restaurants and 134 flats, was approved in April 2003 and is near completion along London Road.

Outline planning permission has already been granted for a comprehensive development of the phase two area, with the council consenting to 316 houses and flats.

However on Wednesday, December, 7 an amended application by the St James group asking for the number of dwellings to be increased to 500 was rejected.

Cllr Margaret Draper, district councillor for Micklefield, expressed her disappointment in the proposal.

She said: "I was really excited at the thought of this development, but it seems to bear such little resemblance to what I imagined."

Concerns were raised that while the scheme offered 171 affordable housing units, none of them would be two or three bedroom houses. The scheme also proposed that a new access road to London Road, built alongside the Curry's electrical store, would not be completed until all 500 homes were occupied, leading to fears the development would become a large cul-de-sac without sufficient access.

Cllr Draper added: "If I had my way it would be after the first house, not the 500th."

District council officers, in a comprehensive 29-page report, compiled 15 reasons for refusal.

Objections were received from Sport England over the failure of the proposed development to provide sports facilities, which, they claimed, would "result in significant additional demand being placed on the town's existing sport and recreational facilities".

Cllr Richard Pushman said: "It was interesting to hear their objections. I think this is something overlooked in a lot of plans and I'm glad they picked up on it."

Cllr David Fieldhouse added: "I was getting hot under the collar reading this report. This was going over the top.

"I think not providing any three bedroom housing is a big slip-up."