Chesham and Amersham MP Cheryl Gillan has urged the prime minister to cancel the “deeply unpopular” HS2 rail project- which will run through Chiltern countryside - and instead prioritise road repairs.

During Prime Minister’s Question Time on January 9, Dame Cheryl said billions of pounds is being “wasted” on the new rail line and called for the money to be spent on fixing the country's roads and transport upgrades instead.

Greater investment in road repairs and upgrades to existing railway lines should be prioritised over than the HS2 “vanity” project, according to the MP.

She said: “The travelling public want greater investment to repair our roads and upgrade our existing railway services.

“Yet we are wasting billions on a deeply unpopular project where the management and the costs are out of control and will end up with an invoice for the taxpayer of more than £100 billion £300 million per mile of track.

“When are we going to cancel HS2 and spend this money on the people’s priorities for transport rather than on this vanity project which will never deliver value for money?”

HS2 are due to start work on the 15.8km long Chiltern Tunnel next year, which will begin just inside the M25 near junction 17 and come out northwest of South Heath.

Angry Chiltern residents have previously raised concerns over the impact construction traffic will have on the small country roads.

However, Theresa May said HS2 is already “spreading prosperity” – as 7,000 jobs and 2,000 businesses are being created, with tens of billions of pounds of benefits for passengers, suppliers and communities up and down the route.

Mrs May said: “First of all, we recognise the concerns that people have about roads, particularly issues such as potholes in their roads, which is precisely why my right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has made more money available to address those issues.

“On the question of HS2, it is not just about a high-speed railway; it is about ensuring that we have the capacity that is needed on this particular route, because we are already reaching capacity on the west coast main line.

“We are already seeing HS2 spreading prosperity. It is encouraging investment and rebalancing our economy, and that is 10 years before the railway even opens.”