Angry neighbours say Wycombe Leisure Centre construction has left them in a 'living hell'

The homeowners say over the last year a lack of communication and constant broken promises has taken its toll with the final straw coming as workers left the site last week “half finished”.

Wycombe District Council plan to open the leisure centre on January 5 as part of the £150 million Handy Cross Hub which includes a Waitrose supermarket, Coachway and hotel.

Despite the first phase being completed on Friday, residents on a small road next to the land, say concerns over tree planting and people using their road as a car park is ruining their quality of life.

Bev Sturges said: “The last year has been a nightmare. They said they wanted it finished by a set time and the reason that they want to finish is so they can open the leisure centre and make money.

“But they have left it half finished. They haven’t put our trees in, people can look into our houses – it is awful.

“They keep saying it will be finished soon, but after the last year it’s difficult to trust them.

Neighbours standing shoulder-to-shoulder against Handy Cross development.

“I just worry that this is all finished and then we’re going to be left behind and forgotten about.”

Linda Robinson added: “All the things that might seem little to the likes of Wycombe District Council are huge to us. It’s our lives. Every day we have to live with this.”

Despite the construction project ending, residents argue that they have left with more work still to be done.

Amongst other concerns, they say trees should be planted between their property and the leisure centre and bollards should be put at the end of the road to stop motorists blocking their drives.

There have also been concerns at people overlooking their property, lights shining into their bedroom and a failure to police parking.

View from Linda Robinson's window.

WDC spokesman Catherine Spalton said: “Building a new leisure centre has never been about making a profit, it has always been about replacing a 40 year old facility with a modern, fit-for-purpose leisure centre that all of the district’s residents can benefit from and enjoy, including local residents.”

She added: “We do appreciate that living next to a major construction site has not been without impact on the neighbouring residents and we know that it hasn’t been easy to put up with what’s going on.

“However, since the early stages of the planning application, we have tried to keep residents informed about the progress of the development.

“More importantly, we have been responsive to their concerns. We have told them that where possible, we will be taking steps to mitigate their concerns, but we can’t do everything all at once.

“We have explained that the priority has been to get the main contractor to complete their works, before we follow up with ‘fine tuning’.

“We have informed neighbouring residents that we will be adding slatted screens to the top floor of the new car park and a frosted panel to its staircase, to mitigate any overlooking.

“And we have informed them that the bollards at the end of the current access road to create a cul-de-sac effect are to be installed this week.

The entrance to the Wycombe Sports Centre car park is on their road.

“We have also said that we will be working with landscape contractors, once Willmott Dixon have left site, to try and plant some trees for extra screening to the houses (having explained that there is electricity mains cable that may be a constraint).

“And we have agreed to look into options to minimise any light spill from the gym.”