This weekend the public have a chance to view revised plans for an increased number of homes on the proposed housing estate on the Gomm Valley.

The original plan unveiled to local organisations and residents in June was for “up to 400 homes.”

A spokesman for the development company, headed by former Greenpeace director Jonathan Smales and his business partner Michael Manolson, told the Free Press this week changes had been made to accommodate a wider mix of styles with the emphasis on apartments and smaller houses to meet the demographic housing needs of the area.

“There will be more than 400 homes but they won’t take up more land. The exact number hasn’t been decided,” he said.

Geographically the Gomm Valley stretches from the Peregrine Business Park at the top of Gomm Road off the A40 London Road on the southern boundary to the fields and paddocks at Ashwells on the northern tip. The eastern boundary follows the line of back gardens of houses on Hammersley Lane and Sandpits Lane eventually reaching Hammersley Lane on the south east corner.

Prior to 2014 the valley was classed in planning terms as a reserved greenfield site.

Subsequently it was one of five sites released from the reserved list to enable Wycombe District Council to build enough homes to meet the Government’s housing target for the area.

On Sunday local residents and community organisations are invited to meet the developers at the public exhibition from 10am-3.30pm at Tylers Green Middle School.

It’s an opportunity for the public to have their say before the planning application is submitted.

Here’s what Jonathan Smales says about the proposed scheme and the environmental sensitivity of the surroundings:

“Gomm Valley, on the edge of High Wycombe, is an attractive dry valley landscape typical of the Chiltern Hills. As the last undeveloped chalk valley in High Wycombe, it is of great importance both as a resource and part of the local green infrastructure.

“It has already been earmarked by the Council for development for housing. However, we at Human+Nature are putting forward a proposal with Aviva that will provide more than just homes: we are hoping to create an exemplary scheme, from a social, sustainable and design point of view.

“Little Haldens, as our proposed development is called, is all about conserving or enriching as much as possible of the landscape that is already there, and making that landscape an integral part of the scheme’s identity.

“Not only will the houses be designed for maximum daylight and views, insulated and powered by the most effective carbon-saving technologies, but they will also use materials that fit in with and enhance the landscape around them – brick, chalk, flint and timber, for example.

“To provide housing for all kinds of people at all stages of life, there will be a real variety of homes, from easy access apartments and terraced family housing lower down the site, near to public transport and amenities (good for the elderly, for young commuters and for families) to larger, free-standing houses near the top.

“The valley’s three distinct village neighbourhoods sit between the important ecological features. For example, we will be regenerating more than 40 acres of species-rich calcareous grassland.

“A thriving community is one with assets and activities around which peoples’ daily lives revolve. We are planning a new school, new shops and a community centre at the heart of what will be a new public square.

“A necklace of ponds and water features will be introduced to capture run-off and provide new habitats, culminating in a natural swimming pond.

“Living alongside nature will create a special atmosphere within Little Haldens, and we hope to enrich that with allotments, and opportunities for food to be made and shared within the community.

“We will encourage new businesses into affordable studio-spaces built close to Peregrine Business Park, which already adjoins the site.

“If you want to be part of this ground-breaking new approach, please come along to our public consultation event this Sunday and have your say.”