Officers back six homes at 147 Wycombe Lane, Wooburn Green, and a shop with four flats in Walters Ash, despite objections. Councillors decide on 28 October.

A plan to knock down a house on Wycombe Lane in Wooburn Green and build six in its place is recommended for approval. Councillors on Buckinghamshire Council’s West Buckinghamshire Area Planning Committee will decide it on Wednesday 28 October.

The same meeting will also decide a second contested scheme: a convenience store with four flats above it on Main Road, Walters Ash. Officers back that one too, subject to a drainage issue being settled. A version of it was refused by the committee in 2023 and lost at appeal.

Both reports are published with the agenda for the meeting. It starts at 6.30pm in the Council Chamber on Queen Victoria Road, High Wycombe, and is webcast.

147 Wycombe Lane, Wooburn Green: six homes for one

The site is about three and a half miles south-east of High Wycombe town centre, on the western side of Wycombe Lane. The application, reference 25/05439/FUL, was validated in February 2025. It has been amended several times since. (Officer report)

The scheme would demolish the existing detached house and build three pairs of semi-detached houses. The report sets out:

  • six four-bedroom houses, each two and a half storeys, up to 11.7 metres to the ridge
  • one pair on the road frontage, and two pairs in the rear garden, which rises about 9 metres from the road to the back boundary
  • 12 parking spaces, two per house, with a new access off Wycombe Lane replacing the existing one
  • seven trees removed, all rated low quality or in poor condition in the tree survey
  • a 5-metre strip kept free across the site for a future walking and cycling route between High Wycombe and Bourne End, planted as a wildflower meadow meanwhile
  • six 32-amp electric car chargers, required by condition before anyone moves in

For comparison, the report says the houses either side are 7.3 metres and 8.5 metres tall. Other houses on that stretch reach 9.3 metres.

Who objected

Two ward councillors, S Wilson and P Drayton, called the application in to committee. Councillor Wilson’s comments in the report cite “overdevelopment”, access onto “a very busy main road”, parking, building heights and the loss of green space.

Wooburn and Bourne End Parish Council “strongly” objected. It argued that four-bedroom houses need at least three parking spaces each. It also said Wycombe Lane is “an arterial route to the M40”, not a quiet road, and questioned the drainage plan. Councillor S Kayani made the same parking objection.

Neighbours’ objections listed in the report include highway safety, overdevelopment, loss of privacy and light, flood risk and pressure on local services. Some asked for the Mercury Park development to be counted in the traffic assessment. The report also records letters of support. Those say the plans suit a large plot and that homes are “desperately needed in Wooburn Green”. The report does not give a count of either.

Why officers say yes

The report answers the main objections one by one:

  • Parking: Buckinghamshire’s parking guidance counts habitable rooms, not bedrooms. On that basis two spaces per house is the requirement, and 12 spaces meets it.
  • Access: the council’s highways team first objected over poor visibility and turning space. The applicant then agreed to widen the footway on Wycombe Lane, and the objection was withdrawn. The team is satisfied a fire engine can turn on site.
  • Drainage: the lead flood authority now says there is no surface water flood risk, after amended drainage details.
  • Wildlife: the scheme loses 69.79% of the site’s habitat value but gains 19.78% in hedgerows. The applicant will buy biodiversity credits to reach the statutory 10% gain.
  • Housing supply: the council cannot show a five-year supply of housing land, which the report says gives extra weight to new homes.

Six homes is below the council’s threshold for affordable housing, so none are required. The scheme will pay the Community Infrastructure Levy.

The report says the site is not in a conservation area. Separately, the council is consulting until 29 November on extending the Wooburn Green Conservation Area.

280 Main Road, Walters Ash: a shop and four flats

Walters Ash is about three and a half miles north of High Wycombe, in the Chilterns National Landscape. The site at 280 Main Road was a builder’s yard for decades and has more recently been a tyre firm’s depot. Application PL/26/05165/FA would replace its buildings with one two-storey block. (Officer report)

The plans include:

  • a convenience store with a 279 square metre sales floor and a 135.5 square metre store room behind
  • four flats above: two with two bedrooms and two with one
  • 24 parking spaces: 16 for customers, three of them disabled bays, three for staff and five for the flats

Why it is back

The committee refused a similar scheme, 21/08463/FUL, in July 2023. It gave two reasons: overdevelopment, and harm to neighbours from overlooking and noise. The applicant appealed. The inspector dismissed the appeal on the neighbour grounds only, citing the distance between rear windows and houses behind and a lack of noise information.

Officers say the new design deals with that. The rear wing has been redrawn and the delivery yard moved away from the back boundary. If approved, conditions would limit:

  • opening hours to 7am to 11pm, every day
  • deliveries to 7am to 7pm Monday to Saturday, and 8am to 7pm on Sundays and bank holidays

Local councillor Carroll called this application in. Hughenden Parish Council and the Naphill and Walters Ash Residents Association both object. Their concerns include the scale of the building, traffic and parking near the Clappins Lane junction, and noise from late opening. The report says more than 25 objections were received, including one from Greg Smith MP. One comment supports it, saying it would bring jobs and use a brownfield site.

The recommendation is not a straight approval. Thames Water has not yet re-confirmed that the site’s surface water can go into its sewer, as an earlier agreement has expired. Officers ask the committee to be “minded to approve” and to let the Head of Planning issue the decision once that is settled.

What it means for you

  • Watch it: the meeting is on Wednesday 28 October at 6.30pm and is webcast. It is open to the public.
  • Read the plans: search the reference numbers on the council’s planning register. Our planning news page explains how.
  • Questions about the meeting go to the council’s democratic services team at democracy@buckinghamshire.gov.uk, the contact given on the agenda.
  • Councillors can disagree with officers. The Walters Ash committee did exactly that in 2023. We will report the decisions.