NEXT Wednesday, the development control committee will consider a planning application to develop the former Young Offenders' Institute at Finnamore Wood, near Frieth and Marlow, with several very large houses.

Although I am a committee member, unless matters change for the better, I will not be allowed to take part, following my exclusion from the meeting two weeks ago when this application first came on to the agenda.

The reason for my exclusion is that my brother is advising the owners, the Home Office, on the land's sale. It seems very odd that I am not allowed to oppose an application handled by the company my brother works for.

It would look even odder to the public, knowing of my opposition to the application, if I declared an interest and absented myself from the debate. Then they would be right to suspect complicity between us, although the exact opposite would be true.

Senior officers of Wycombe District Council have known for several years about the role of my brother in this application and that I have been very concerned about their handling of this site. My strong belief is that they should have prepared a report for councillors about possible alternative uses of the site after it closed years ago.

Councillors, taking note of comments from residents and parish councils, would have told officers which kind of development we favoured. They refused to go along that route, with the result that they effectively cherry-picked an application and put it to the committee without a recommendation to approve or refuse.

All parishes, and most residents, are strongly opposed to the application, and it would be most unfortunate if I was not allowed to add my dissenting voice to the debate on Wednesday. If, as I hope, it is refused, the refusal of officers to involve councillors in its future has left this very important site sitting empty, a waste of taxpayers' money for several years past, and, on this evidence, several more to come.

Cllr Tony Dunn

(Hambleden Valley

District Ward)

Wycombe District

Council