CAMPAIGNERS have condemned Wycombe District Council’s “ludicrous” plans to route a relief road along rural residential lanes in Princes Risborough.

Proposals to route part of a new western relief road along Shootacre Lane and Picts Lane were ditched two years ago after the Princes Risborough Bypass ActioN Group (BANG) argued that the roads were unsafe and unsuitable for this purpose.

Despite coming up with what they say is a safer alternative for this section of the route, the council is planning to use Shootacre Lane and Picts Lanes as an ‘interim’ route for 10 years or more.

The plans are revealed in the council’s Princes Risborough Expansion Plan, which sets out timescales for the building of 2,500 new homes and the phasing of developer-funded infrastructure to support the increased population.

The council has said a new relief route is needed to serve construction lorries travelling to the development site and eventually through-traffic between High Wycombe and Aylesbury.

The final route chosen by the council involves the creation of a new £2.5 million stretch of road – the Culverton Link. But the council has said it will delay building this until the final phase of the plan in about 2033.

In the meantime it plans to spend £376,000 on interim measures along Shootacre Lane including widening the junction with Picts Lane so HGVs can pass each other and traffic flows faster. Picts Lane forms part of a Sustrans National Cycle Route while Shootacre Lane lies within a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and provides a link between two bridleways - the Ridgeway and Phoenix Trail.

Campaigners say both lanes are in frequent use by horse-riders, cyclists, walkers and joggers to access the countryside and are lined with ancient hedgerows and important trees.

In a meeting with BANG representatives, the council’s team leader for Infrastructure and projects John Callaghan is said to have admitted that no additional safety measures are planned or budgeted for – there will be no pedestrian crossing, no street lighting and no lowering of the speed limit along the lanes.

Monica Nelson, one of the coordinators of BANG, said: “This latest proposal from Wycombe District Council is utterly staggering.

“Despite agreeing that our lanes would make an unsatisfactory and unsafe relief road, it plans to spend almost £400,000 on a long-term interim solution that will cause permanent harm to this very special area and more than a decade of misery and danger for residents. There is also a risk that this inadequate measure will become permanent if the funding is not there in 10 years’ time.

“This is a very special place and the neighbourhood has really pulled together once again to fight this ludicrous plan with everything we have.”

Fellow BANG coordinator Philip Hayes added: “I am very concerned by the proposal to use our lanes as the main road for construction traffic heading for the Risborough expansion area.

“These roads are completely unsuitable for this increased volume and type of traffic. There is no evidence of the council having looked at the safety implications for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders. The section of Shootacre Lane where I live doesn’t even have a pavement.”

In response to the concerns, Cllr David Johncock, cabinet member for planning at WDC said: “The council is committed to getting the right infrastructure to go with the planned expansion of Princes Risborough. This includes the Culverton Link – which provides a long-term alternative to Shootacre Lane, and which the council agrees is the best long-term option.

“It has always recognised that more work was – and is – required to determine how infrastructure to support the expansion of Princes Risborough can be delivered in a timely way.

“The council will carefully consider the comments that have been made in response to the consultation on the draft planning guidance, including the scope to bring forward the delivery of the Culverton Link.”