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We have objected to a planning application which could threaten the lovely Ibstone Common in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Bucks.
The owner of The Fox Country Hotel in Ibstone has applied to Wycombe District Council for permission to extend the premises, to include a flexible restaurant and covered canopy which can be converted into a function suite for about 120 people. There are only 23 parking spaces, so that customers are likely to park outside on the road and the adjoining common.
The common opposite The Fox, Ibstone
We fear that, if this planning application is granted, customers at The Fox will find the car-park is full and will park instead along the road and on the common. Such parking would have a devastating effect on this lovely common, turning it into a rutted, soggy mess.
Yet the common is the jewel of Ibstone, a place where local people and visitors have the right to walk freely, and it contributes to the rural setting of the village.
Furthermore, the entrance to the car-park would be reduced, and this tight space would deter people from using the car-park.
This application is damaging to the lovely village of Ibstone and its very special common and we urge the council to reject it.