HIGH Wycombe's western sector has become the hottest piece of real estate in town with the revelation this week that a third group of developers is putting forward proposals to transform the area.

LXB Properties outlined the latest shopping and leisure scheme for the land between Abbey Road, Oxford Road and Bridge Street to the Free Press this week.

The plans would include demolishing the Abbey Way flyover and bringing the River Wye above ground where it runs through the town.

The company decided to go public after we reported last week that Tesco had put in a rival plan to that of Wycombe District Council and its partner, Stannifer.

The council plan, known as Project Phoenix, left Tesco out in the cold.

The LXB plan involves £200 million of private investment, twice as much as Project Phoenix. The company says it has the financial backing to carry out the development and that it can get on with it quickly.

It is also bigger 30 acres rather than 16 and bolder than Project Phoenix.

Abbey Way, which forms a barrier between the western sector and the existing town centre, will go so that the new development merges with the old town. A new dual carriageway, coming off the road to the hospital, would link to Bridge Street.

Removing Abbey Way would enable the River Wye, which currently runs in a culvert underneath, to be opened as a scenic feature.

Tesco, which has a store in the western sector, would get the new larger Tesco Extra it wants.

Two of the men behind the LXB plan are former Tory district councillor, Tony Dunn, a chartered surveyor, and Peter Hunter, property consultant of Moore, Hunter and Partners of Marlow.

Mr Dunn told the Free Press: "We have major ideas for the western sector, which will be much, much better than either those of Stannifer or Tesco."

LXB owns 12 to 16 Denmark Street, in the western sector, and says this gives it the interest in the land which the council says is necessary for a scheme to be considered.

Mr Dunn said: "The scheme is a superb one, to bring High Wycombe into the first division from the shopping point of view."

The first stage, said Mr Hunter, would be to move Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College onto the Compair site and build a new store for Tesco.

"We are bending over backwards to accommodate Tesco," he added. "This is a better proposal than Tesco's. I think they will go along with us."

He added: "This is a very big scheme and we would not be sitting here if we didn't think it worked."

Meanwhile, Wycombe District Council's cabinet announced yesterday it has rejected Tesco's rival plans for Project Phoenix, arguing that they would lead to residents having to stump up extra council tax to subsidise the scheme.

Council leader Cllr Roger Colomb said adopting the Tesco scheme would delay progress on the development by at least nine months.

Some 95 per cent of the 220 people responding to a consultation on the council's plans with partner Stannifer for the Phoenix project liked the scheme. Stannifer is due to apply for planning permission by Easter.

Cllr Colomb said: "The overwhelming majority of people want us to get on with it as quickly as possible and not be delayed by further distractions."

To see the plan, click the related link below.