Work has started on 18 HS2-funded road safety schemes in Bucks, including Holmer Green, South Heath, The Lee and Great Missenden. Most finish by spring 2027.

Holmer Green and South Heath are getting new village gateway features and signs, paid for by HS2, as work starts on 18 road safety schemes across Buckinghamshire. The Lee is getting traffic calming signs and road markings, and London Road in Great Missenden new footways, signs and markings.

Buckinghamshire Council said on 6 November that the schemes share the remaining £1.3 million from the third round of the HS2 Road Safety Fund, money meant to deal with the extra traffic that HS2 construction has brought to towns and villages. Design, surveys, consultation and procurement are done, and most of the work is due to be finished by spring 2027.

The schemes nearest High Wycombe

Five of the 18 are in the Chilterns villages north and east of the town:

  • Holmer Green: village gateway features and signage
  • South Heath: village gateway features and signage
  • The Lee: traffic calming signs and road markings
  • London Road, Great Missenden: footway improvements, signage and road markings
  • A413 Kings Road, Chalfont St Giles: removal of an informal pedestrian crossing point

None of this round is in High Wycombe itself, Marlow or Princes Risborough. The other 13 are in the north and west of the county, most of them in villages along the HS2 line:

  • Edgcott: traffic calming signs and road markings
  • Calvert Green: a traffic island and bridleway surfacing improvements
  • Grendon Underwood: traffic calming measures
  • Chilton: footway access improvements
  • Baker Street, Waddesdon: parking restrictions
  • Ashendon: traffic calming signs and road markings
  • Rowsham: footway improvements and lighting
  • Main Street, Padbury: traffic calming measures
  • Twyford CofE School frontage: footway improvements
  • Upper Winchendon: village entry features
  • Preston Road and Main Street, Gawcott: traffic calming measures
  • Station Road, Quainton: traffic calming measures and parking restrictions
  • Addison Road, Steeple Claydon: traffic calming measures

What the council says

Thomas Broom, the council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Transport, said:

“We know many communities across Buckinghamshire continue to be impacted by HS2 construction work, so it’s good to see work now starting on another package of improvements that will make local roads safer and more accessible for residents.

“These schemes put the needs of our residents first. From new pedestrian crossings and traffic calming measures to pavement improvements and clearer signage, they respond directly to the challenges local communities are experiencing and will help make journeys safer and easier.

“This £1.3 million investment is part of almost £4 million secured for Buckinghamshire to support communities most affected by HS2 construction activity. It will deliver lasting benefits for residents long after the construction work has finished.”

Where the money came from

The council’s HS2 Road Safety Fund page puts the county’s total at £3.95 million, released in rounds. The first, £1 million in 2021, drew 35 bids and paid for 17 schemes. The second, £1.6 million in 2022, drew 39 bids and paid for 12.

Those earlier rounds did reach the Wycombe area. The first paid for traffic calming on the A4010 at Bradenham and at Saunderton, better warnings at the Chiltern line rail bridge, better visibility at the junction of Bradenham Wood Lane with the A4010, white edge lines on stretches of the A4010, and a pedestrian crossing outside Hyde Heath Infant School.

For this third round, 24 schemes were put forward and 18 were approved by the HS2 Road Safety Fund project board in 2025, after an assessment by the council’s highways, HS2 and road safety teams. The council’s page gives the round’s allocation as £1 million and says it is aimed at “a greater number of smaller-scale schemes to benefit as many communities as possible”; the 6 November announcement puts the money now being spent at £1.3 million. A map of every HS2-funded scheme is linked from the same page.