WAITROSE plans to develop the Portlands site in Marlow attracted a small but vociferous crowd at an extraordinary town council meeting.

The Portlands site, currently a run-down plot of land in Portlands Alley, was originally bought in 1997 by Waitrose, and will act as a temporary store if the Riley Road plan is approved.

Once Riley Road is finished, the store at Portlands will be knocked down and the site will be possibly used for a housing development.

But Bob Savidge, trustee of The Marlow Society, challenged Waitrose's 44-page proposal document and called for it to be re-drafted at a meeting of Marlow town council on Wednesday, June 29.

The group, concerned with the preservation and monitoring of developments in Marlow, objected to the proposal because it said:

It contravened the town council's local plan

It failed to provide rear surfacing for all of the shops in West Street and High Street

It failed to address the issue of inadequate parking in West Street Car Park

It was ambiguous about the style and density of the proposed affordable housing units

It suggested retaining all of the trees on the site to the detriment of developing the plot

It failed to address traffic and parking concerns with reference to the Oxford Road Junction and link road implications for congestion and traffic movements.

Mr Savidge said: "It is totally unacceptable. It should be re-drafted as it only selectively uses the local plan."

Lance Slater, Marlow and District Chamber of Trade and Commerce spokesman, applauded the Marlow Society's "detailed report" and urged the council to consider the Portland application together with Waitrose's application to extend its store in West Street.

He said both applications would have a major impact on the town and should be called in for a public enquiry.

Wycombe district councillor Alex Collingwood urged the council to keep West Street Car Park open after a West Street businessman warned it would "seriously damage" town trade.

The town council said it would consider all of these submissions in drafting its written recommendations to Wycombe District Council planning authority in the next 28 days.