“This is as bad as feared” – that’s how campaigners have reacted to fresh plans by Taylor Wimpey to build up to 800 homes on the “beautiful” Gomm Valley.

Taylor Wimpey acquired the picturesque valley in May last year after plans for a 1,000-home “green village” by developers Human Nature dramatically fell through after their partners Aviva Investors backed out.

Campaigners have been fighting to save the Gomm Valley from development for years after it was one of five sites released for development by the then-Wycombe District Council back in 2014.

There was a glimmer of hope the site could be saved when the Human Nature plans fell through because they urged Aviva to “do the right thing” and hand the land over to the community to be kept as a wildlife haven instead.

Instead, Aviva sold the land to Taylor Wimpey, who have now come forward with their own plans for the site, although they have not yet submitted a full planning application.

More details about the future of the site have been revealed in a public exhibition by Taylor Wimpey that launched virtually on January 22.

They claim their development will be “landscape-led”, with plans for a primary school and a community facility at the bottom of the valley, a maximum of 800 homes that will be a mix of one-bed apartments through to five-bed homes, large areas of publicly-accessible open space and an employment zone with “flexible use”.

They say up to 48 per cent will be classed as affordable housing.

There will also be a “primary street” through the site that will connect Cock Lane and Gomm Road, with two access points at the southern end and one at the northern end.

Bucks Free Press: The parcels of land mentioned below shown on a map of the siteThe parcels of land mentioned below shown on a map of the site

The site is being split into eight “parcels”, which each area having different key features.

Parcels 1, 2 and 3:

• This area will create a “sense of arrival” from Gomm Road, creation of a community hub featuring a primary school and a community facility at the bottom of the valley

• A pedestrian/cycle link (and possible vehicle link) between parcels one, two and three

• A mix of apartments and detached, semi-detached and terraced houses

• Buildings up to four-storeys in height

• Potentially 50 per cent unallocated parking

Parcels 4, 5 and 6:

• This area will have a “strong relationship” with the valley landscape

• Mix of detached, semi-detached and terraced houses with small apartment buildings

• Buildings predominantly two and 2.5 storeys in height

• New homes backing onto boundary with Pimms Grove will be designed to “allow views through”

• Roads will be along or diagonally across the contours

• A spine road

Parcels 7 and 8:

• Mix of detached, semi-detached and terraced houses

• Existing planting and hedgerows around the edges will be kept

• Shared surface lanes and “landscaped buffers” to the edge of the parcels

• Maximum building height 2.5 storeys

Taylor Wimpey said it will be looking to submit a hybrid application later this year.

Other key features of the site include:

• Possibility of a new bus route through the site

• Pedestrian and cycle links throughout the site connecting to wider routes in the area

• Areas of public open space

• A one-form entry primary school

• Mixed-use employment space

• Teenage and children’s play space

• Accessibility to local sports facilities such as the Penn and Tylers Green Sports Club and Kingsmead Rec

Campaign group Hands off Gomm Valley (HOG) said the plans are “as bad as feared”, adding: “Destroys our beautiful valley and will gridlock our side of town. Proposing such a huge development that is way in excess of what was promised when Gomm Valley was initially released for development.”

Residents have also raised fears over traffic congestion on surrounding roads, parking and a lack of GP provision.

Taylor Wimpey has invited feedback from residents, which they say will help “evolve and refine our proposals prior to submitting a hybrid planning application… to Buckinghamshire Council later this year”.

The formal consultation period on the plans ends on February 13 – you can view the plans at consultwithyou.co.uk/taylorwimpey/gomm-valley-vr and fill out the feedback form at www.taylorwimpey.co.uk/new-homes/high-wycombe/gomm-valley