THE High Court case which could decide the future of High Wycombe's £95 million Western Sector development may now not take place until the autumn.

Great Portland Estates (GPE), which is putting up the money for the scheme, is taking the developers, MAB, to court to see if it has the legal right to pull out.

Early in May the Free Press reported that the case was likely in July, but the the court has not given either party a date yet.

Alan Fulford, Wycombe district councillor and cabinet member with responsibility for the council's major projects, now thinks October is more likely.

And he is getting more and more frustrated because there is nothing the council, which is the third party in the scheme, can do.

"We should be seeing the project rising out of the ground by now but it has been one set back after another," he said.

Neither is there any sign yet of the detailed planning application which MAB has to submit for the scheme to be able to move forward.

A district council spokesman said the application had to be in by the end of August to fit in with legal requirements of the compulsory purchase orders already made.

Karen Walker, MAB's Wester Sector project manager, said a full team was doing a phenomenal amount of work to prepare a detailed application.

But she declined to give a date when the application would be submitted.

Cllr Fulford said not only might new funders have to be found but it would be perfectly possibly for both MAB and GPE to pull out

"All we can do is to urge MAB to continue with submission of the planning application and to reach a settlement with GPE," he said.

"We are very frustrated that for all this time we have been unable to deliver the Western Sector Development for the town

"The town needs developments like this.

"We are the victims of a protracted time frame."