The first stretch runs from Hughenden Park to Temple End. It adds new crossings and cycle track, and removes six parking bays, some trees and part of a wall.

The first stretch of the Wycombe Valley Link, a walking and cycling route across High Wycombe, is going to a formal public consultation. It runs from Hughenden Park to Temple End, by way of Coates Lane, Hughenden Boulevard, Bellfield Road and Glenisters Road.

Buckinghamshire Council approved the consultation in an officer decision on 5 November. The consultation was not yet listed on the council’s Your Voice Bucks site when we checked on 13 November.

Overview

  • The route: Hughenden Park to Temple End, the first section of a planned link through the station and town centre to Wycombe Marsh.
  • New crossings: a toucan crossing on Coates Lane, a raised parallel zebra on Bellfield Road and a signal crossing on Glenisters Road.
  • What goes: six parking bays on Temple End, the zebra crossing on the roundabout’s southern arm in Glenisters Road, and some trees and part of a wall at Temple End.
  • Next: a public consultation, with dates still to be published.

What is proposed, street by street

The decision report lists the changes.

Hughenden Park - The existing path through the park, about 535 metres from the northern gate by Hughenden Park Manor to the southern entrance off Coates Lane, becomes a shared path for walking and cycling.

Coates Lane - A new toucan crossing near number 12. - The footway between Jumelle Mews and Hughenden Park becomes shared use. - Double yellow lines are extended opposite 21 to 25 Coates Lane.

Hughenden Boulevard - The pedestrian crossing at the junction with Hughenden Avenue becomes a toucan crossing. - The uncontrolled crossing near Hughenden Park Student Village gets a raised table.

Bellfield Road and Hughenden Road - A new raised parallel zebra crossing on the western arm of the roundabout, and a new cycle track at the roundabout. - The shared path on the roundabout’s northern arm, on Hughenden Road, is extended.

Glenisters Road - A new signal-controlled crossing near the store’s pedestrian entrance. - A new cycle track between the roundabout and Temple End, through an existing wall. - The zebra crossing on the southern arm of the roundabout is removed. - New double yellow lines, in force 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Temple End and Benjamin Road - A raised table at the junction of Temple End and Benjamin Road, and the crossing on Benjamin Road raised too. - Six on-street parking bays on Temple End at the Benjamin Road junction are removed. They are resident permit bays for zone HW3, with paid parking for up to four hours, Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm. - Trees and a section of wall in front of the junction are removed.

The report does not say how many trees would be felled.

Why it is being built

The route is part of the council’s High Wycombe Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan. The report says it would link green spaces, homes, student housing, an assisted living home, a large supermarket and the town centre.

It is paid for by the council, the Community Infrastructure Levy, the High Wycombe Community Board and Active Travel England. The report gives no cost.

What it means for you

If you park in zone HW3 near Temple End, six bays at the Benjamin Road junction would go. If you walk or cycle between Hughenden Park and the town centre, you would get three new crossings, three upgraded ones and a continuous shared route.

The law requires the council to consult for at least 28 days before felling healthy street trees, the report notes. The parking changes need a traffic order, which is advertised before it is made.

The Disraeli ward councillor has been involved throughout, the report says. Councillors for Abbey and for Terriers and Amersham Hill are to be engaged during the consultation.

Sources