PLANNERS have given the go-ahead for hundreds of new homes on the former G Plan furniture factory site.

But Wycombe District Council planning applications panel said that the plans for the land, at Spring Gardens, High Wycombe, should have "a little more imagination" and "were going in all the wrong directions".

Outline planning permission for more than 250 homes was given to developers Fairview New Homes plc at last Wednesday's meeting.

Other concerns raised by councillors were the closeness of the railway and the lack of parking.

The 11-acre site has a long history of furniture manufacturing.

G Plan closed its factory in the town in 1992 with the loss of 600 jobs.

Plans include 206 one and two-bedroom flats, six one-bed houses, 30 three-bedroom houses and 22 four-bedroom houses, as well as public open space and play areas.

The plan has provision for 337 car park spaces, a theoretical shortage of 172 spaces in relation to the council's adopted parking standards.

Although permission has been given for the demolition of existing buildings and redevelopment for residential purposes, the detail will be finalised at a later date.

Cllr Clare Martens, who said she supported the outline planning application, said that other members had been negative about the parking issue.

She added: "People are going to know they are only equipped with reduced parking.

"We're going to have to bite the bullet sooner or later."

Cllr Pam Priestley said she feared that increased traffic on the railway could mean a 'dreadful' living environment in the future.

"Central Railway is trying to get another proposal. We know what hardship the last proposal caused to people living very close to the railway."

Cllr Jeff Herschel said people would park "on every inch where they can" because of the shortfall of parking spaces and said the railway would be noisy.

Cllr Kathleen Peatey said: "I would have hoped that we could have something perhaps with a little bit more imagination.

"It does look rather like rows and rows of old-fashioned housing."

Cllr Anthea Hardy said: "I felt absolute horror.

"If this is a prelude to the development of our brownfield sites I can only see gloom. This appears to be going in all the wrong directions."

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