LEGENDARY former Wanderers players Steve Brown and John Maskell have hit out at Wycombe District Council’s decision to block plans for a new stadium and sports village.

Brown branded the decision as “short sighted” while Maskell said the councillors who voted against the plans blew the chance to secure the future of sport in High Wycombe.

Former midfielder Brown said the scheme was comparable to the bid put together by Bucks rivals MK Dons as part of England’s campaign to host the 2018 World Cup, which he felt would have put Milton Keynes on the map.

And Maskell, who kept goal for Blues 616 times from 1964-80, said: “I believe the decision is very short sighted and could affect the lives and wellbeing of people in Wycombe and the surrounding area for the foreseeable future.

“The Wycombe Sporting Village would have been something to be very proud of and would have offered some of the best leisure, recreational and social facilities anywhere in the country as well as putting the town on the map.

“The four councillors involved probably had to make the biggest decision they will ever make as councillors and they blew it. They had the power in their hands to shape the future for sport in Wycombe and secure the future for generations to come. They had the opportunity to make history and be one of the people who saw the future and brought it to Wycombe.

“Alas they were swayed by vocal minority who opposed it. If councillors had supported the same impassioned pleas not to build years ago, Adams Park would not be where it is today. I cannot understand how sport in Wycombe is meant to grow without this sort of development taking place.”

The plans included facilities for several sports including badminton, hockey and cricket and a larger capacity ground for Wanderers and Wasps Rugby Club.

Maskell added: “We all talk about the economy going to the dogs. Yet, when a development such as this, which would have provided much needed local employment and support local businesses to grow, we want to fight it tooth and nail.

“Sadly, I firmly believe that history will prove that this decision was the wrong one, but alas it will be too late.”

Brown, who played nearly 450 times for Blues during a ten-year career, said: “You only have to look at the England proposals for the 2018 World Cup – Milton Keynes got in it. Can you imagine if Wanderers had a stadium similar to that? Maybe Wanderers, if they had got that, would have been able to submit some sort of report and could have been one of the venues.

“I’m not saying they needed a ground with that capacity but there were a lot of facilities, a lot of opportunities, that would have come out of it. There would have been a lot of benefits that would have happened to Wycombe.”

Brown believes progress on the pitch will put Wanderers in a stronger position – and the blow of having the plans rejected could work in their favour.

He said: “It’s a setback but it could be motivation for them to push on and progress. Steve Hayes had a five year plan to get into the Championship – if we get there we can look at it again. If they were in the Championship they would have a better sales pitch.”