Press Release 01. October 2025

Stoke Poges Task Force “bewildered” by Council and WWFC press release​​

Community group questions claim of consultation and warns against fencing off public Green Belt land for private football academy.

 

The Stoke Poges Task Force (www.greenspacetaskforce.org)— a community group formed to safeguard local green space — has expressed its surprise at the timing and content of the joint press release issued by Buckinghamshire Council and Wycombe Wanderers Football Club (WWFC) about the future of the Farnham Park Playing Fields and South Buckinghamshire Golf Course.

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The new announcement gives the impression that meaningful talks with the community and current users have already taken place, and that the overall concept — while still at a granular stage — has in principle been agreed. This framing suggests that any further discussions can only be about details, not about the fundamental direction. But how does this align with reality? Consent has not at all been established, no meaningful talks have been held with several of the groups most affected, and — despite repeated public commitments to involve everyone — requests for meetings have been flatly declined.

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We are equally puzzled by the Council’s continuing reliance on WWFC as its chosen partner. It is public knowledge that WWFC has just recently undertaken significant unauthorised development on Green Belt land, disregarding planning law. How can the Council justify, even reward such unscrupulous behaviour by handing over another Green Belt land for 25 years or more to this same untrustworthy organisation? No transparency of the process and criteria for choosing this partner out of 20 applicants has been offered.

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The announcement refers to WWFC “exploring potential changes to the operations of the existing golf course, in response to declining usage and ongoing financial losses.” This statement ignores two key facts. First, the golf course has in the past been the most profitable element of the charity’s operations, as confirmed by the charity’s own financial statements. Second, the recent decline happened under the Council’s own management, while acting both as the charity’s trustee and operator of the facilities. The golf clubhouse, designed and built by the council only 12 years ago, and managed by them ever since, was dysfunctional from the start — attracting little rental use and unfit to host major competitions. Sanitary facilities have been appalling from the very beginning, and it is telling that the press release itself now concedes the clubhouse requires upgrade and refurbishment. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the losses now cited are the result of poor stewardship, not the viability of golf itself.

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The announcement also repeats the idea that a “modernised” 12-hole golf course without a club would somehow be more flexible and attractive. It is not clear how this conclusion has been reached. Where is the evidence of demand for such a model? All the obvious signs — from golf usage nationally to the experience of current members — point the other way. A smaller course is less attractive and flexible by any logical approach.

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Even more seriously, the fundamental obstacles have not gone away. This site is designated as the highest quality Green Belt and owned by a charity whose purpose is to preserve it for local public use only. No private academy or commercial development can lawfully be built here. After many months of review, it is bewildering that Council and WWFC still present this project as though such barriers could simply be wished away.

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And perhaps most striking of all: the press release hides the single most important point in half a sentence at the very end, behind layers of comforting phrases. Only by checking the FAQ on WWFC’s own website does it become clear that a meaningful section of this public land is intended to be fenced off for the exclusive use of a private football academy. The community deserves openness on such a fundamental change, not a footnote.

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This is not just a Stoke Poges issue. Far from it. If development of this Green Belt land is allowed to proceed, it sets a precedent that threatens the protection of our Green Belt across Buckinghamshire and beyond.

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The Task Force will continue to ask these questions on behalf of residents, and to protect the integrity of and access to all of the public Green Belt land that separates Stoke Poges and Farnham Royal. We will also continue to call for honesty and genuine consultation before any further public claims are made.

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Contact: info@greenspacetaskforce.org

Stoke Poges Task Force
www.greenspacetaskforce.org