Link road planning starts for south east Aylesbury

Preliminary plans are being drawn up to build a south-eastern link road for Aylesbury, ready for an opening in Spring 2020.

The road, just under a mile long, connecting Wendover Road with Lower Road and crossing the main London rail line, will link at one end with the Stoke Mandeville bypass, and form part of the aspirational Aylesbury Orbital route.

The bypass – which will be provided through the HS2 Hybrid Act – and the link road need to open simultaneously to allow traffic, diverted from Stoke Mandeville village centre, to reach the main Wendover Road route into Aylesbury.

The link road budget of £23 million is largely from a Local Growth Fund grant through Buckinghamshire Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership, with contributions from HS2 and local developers.

This will fund a dual-carriageway link road with a roundabout at each end, and a bridge over the main Aylesbury to London railway.

While both carriageways would be built at the same time to save money in the long-run, it would open as a single carriageway road until traffic volumes, forecast to increase in the next 20 years, justified two lanes in each direction.

Discussions are currently being held with landowners and Stoke Mandeville Parish Council, and a public exhibition of the plans, on Wednesday November 1 from 2pm to 8pm, at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, will allow residents to discuss proposals with the planning team and give their feedback.

Following consultation a business case and planning application will be drawn up.

Mark Shaw, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Transport, said the south-eastern link road would provide another valuable segment in an orbital route envisioned for Aylesbury, 1.3 miles of which is currently being built to the east of town as part of the Kingsbrook estate, and 1.8 miles of which is already open as Martin Dalby Way, between the A41 and A413.

“The Stoke Mandeville bypass and link road will do a great deal to relieve Aylesbury’s congestion and provide capacity needed for growth around the town,” said Mark. “I’m pleased we’ll have a further section of an orbital route around Aylesbury, which is intended to draw traffic away from the congested centre.”

Mark added: “A full orbital route maybe a few more years into the future, although we’re pursuing a bid to the Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund that could bring that aspiration closer.”