MICHAEL Shanly has said it is "100 per cent" committed to building a block of flats in Flackwell Heath despite two applications for their controversial plan being rejected.

The developers previously had their application for 17 flats on the corner of the Straight Bit, facing onto Chapman Lane, rejected last year.

They re-applied this year with a smaller proposal of 11 flats, but this was also rejected in May.

But now the company is appealing against the decision made by Wycombe District Council, and has gone to the Secretary of State for the Environment in a bid to get it reversed.

This comes after an appeal to resurrect the 17 flats plan also failed just a few weeks ago on July 1. Now the company's hopes rest firmly with the 11 flats proposal, which would see a two-and-a-half storey building go up, if the appeal to the secretary of state for environment is successful.

But Cllr Julia Langley said that while residents accepted that a development would go up eventually, they were adamant it should not be a block of flats.

She said: "If they are allowed to build in that particular area it will set a precedent for the location. The difficulty that most people had was certainly being able to appreciate what it would look like. I'm surprised Shanly hasn't gone to the parish council with a model to give them some idea."

Duncan Gibson, planning manager for Michael Shanly, said the site was a prime location for homes and that he was hopeful of a positive outcome.

He said: "It is an important corner location for us in design terms. We are 100 per cent optimistic."

The 17 flats plan was rejected by the council and later thrown out by the planning inspectorate, because it would impose an "overbearing effect" on surrounding properties. Residents complained that the plan was too big for the area, did not have enough parking facilities, and was out of character with current properties, which are mainly detached homes and bungalows.

Bur Mr Gibson said the new plan, which was also rejected by the council, was a vast improvement on the original.

Flackwell Heath Residents Association said it was currently undecided whether to oppose the appeal. The decision will be made in around three months' time on the basis of written statements.