THE future of High Wycombe's £95 million Western Sector development could hang on the result of a High Court case in July.

The whole project may have to go back to the drawing board, according to Alan Fulford, chairman of the Western Sector steering group on Wycombe District Council.

Great Portland Estates (GPE), which is putting up the money for the scheme, is fed up with two years of delays and wants the court to decide whether it has the right to pull out of its agreement with the developers, MAB.

If the court decides GPE can withdraw and it decides to do so, MAB will have to find other backers, or the flagship scheme could collapse.

This week MAB said its contract with GPE prohibited it from going to other companies at this stage, though other parties had expressed an interest.

As well as the funding agreement with GPE, MAB has a development agreement with Wycombe District Council. But the council more or less has to sit by and let events unfold.

Cllr Fulford said all the signals coming from GPE were that they wanted to end the agreement. "They don't think their future is in town centre or sub-regional shopping centres," he said.

He said the strategic rethink was nothing to do with the Western Sector. "It is their whole business strategy."

But he said if the Western Sector agreements had hit target, GPE would have been too far down the road to be able to think about pulling out. "They would have been locked in," he said.

"All we can do is to support our partners, MAB, and implore them to keep this on track."

GPE is selling assets in other parts of the country and reinvesting in London and the south east.

As High Wycombe is in the region, the restructuring does not automatically mean the company wants to be rid of the new scheme. The court action could be intended to galvanise MAB into action.

GPE would only say it would take a decision when the court case was over.

Cllr Fulford blames the delays on Tesco's unsuccessful battle against the compulsory purchase order on its landwhich forms part of the site. The case went as far as the High Court, delaying proceedings by about 18 months.

But MAB still has a development agreement with the council and Cllr Fulford said MAB would have to find alternative funding.

"If they can't, we would have to go back to the drawing board. But we are not thinking in this way.

"I am optimistic that there is a market solution."

A MAB spokesman said the scheme was viable, there had been enormous interest by the retail sector and the company hoped to go forward by the end of 2001.