The developers, Human Nature, still have a few friends however…most notably, the Ashwells Forum, comprising representatives of the Penn and Tylers Green Residents’ Society, Chepping Wycombe Parish Council and some individuals. The forum reiterated its support for the plan this week.
The valley is one of the reserve sites for housing in Wycombe so some houses of one sort or another will be built there at the end of the day.
Chairman Miles Green wrote:”The question is what type of development do we wish to see? The likely alternative is run-of-the-mill unrelated groups of houses built by a volume householder concerned only by profit…with far fewer green, sustainable ambitions and enthusiasm for public access.”
Under the present plan, he said, three quarters of the valley will remain in a natural state with the addition of more than 4,000 new trees. There will be public access to areas where there is virtually none at present. The developers, he says, are trying to build a new community with community facilities and “green” initiatives ”rather than just another housing estate on the edge of town”. Once the development is complete Mr Green said it is the developers’ intention to gift the unbuilt section of the valley to a charitable trust in perpetuity.
He adds: “All these desirable measures are very expensive and the 400 plus houses originally envisaged by the development brief cannot possibly support a development of this quality.”
He further adds: “After a long and careful review we have concluded that Human Nature do have the ability to succeed in their aspiration of creating a benchmark project, a place of national significance.”