Wendover HS2 Mitigation Action Group – February 2023

Small Dean designs submitted
In January, HS2 submitted the designs for the Small Dean Viaduct (top photo) to Bucks Council. It has been shortened by 40 metres to improve the environmental impact and reduce costs. The visual appearance of the embankment beside the bypass (centre photo) has also been slightly improved by reducing the noise barrier height by a metre.

The full details can be seen on the Buckinghamshire Council Planning Applications website.

A413 Small Dean Viaduct works
Extensive piling works are needed for the Viaduct piers, and to achieve this safely the A413 will be shifted “east” for a few months. On completion, work will be needed on the other side of the road for another pier involving shifting the A413 “west” towards the railway line. This should form the permanent alignment as the road snakes between them.

We expect further closures of the A413 to accommodate these works and the Parish Council have sought better advanced warning roadside signage. A significant number of motorists have discovered the road closures too late and attempted to use the single track Dunsmore Lane. Better alternative routes are available from the Amersham bypass and Great Missenden (bottom photo).

Small Dean Conveyor and North Embankment
The conveyor over the A413 is being commissioned and is expected to be functioning at the end of March. This will transport spoil north from the Missenden and Rocky Lane excavations to anticipated sites at Wendover and Stoke Mandeville. However, work on the Ellesborough Road crossing has not yet started as the Environment Agency is still not happy about how the Green Tunnel cutting works will impact on the Coombe Hill aquifer.

Meanwhile, work could start on building the Small Dean North Embankment which will consume about 120,000 cubic metres of spoil and keep the conveyor busy for at least four months.

Help from HS2?
In addition to resolving your complaints, if you think HS2 can help with a social value project in the Wendover area please contact the HS2 Helpdesk team on 08081 434 434 (which is available 24 hours a day) or email hs2enquiries@hs2.org.uk. HS2 can support in a variety of ways including financial donations, volunteering hours and material donations. Information on funding is available at https://hs2funds.org.uk/about/ .

Need our help?
If you need further help, want to join us, or have ideas or suggestions that would mitigate the community impact, then get in touch at enquiries@whs2.org.

Doing what’s right for Wendover
See whs2.org