A resident said their Bucks town had become 'marginalised' after the formation of a unitary country council.

Andrew Wood, co-chair of The Marlow Society, a registered charity devoted to the preservation and development of the town, said problems including speeding and pollution were not being sufficiently addressed by Buckinghamshire Council.

It comes amid reports that Rishi Sunak is considering implementing a 'crack down' to prevent councils from imposing 20mph speed limits as part of what The Guardian termed a "push against anti-motorist policies". 

The prime minister has already ordered a review of Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) after the Conservatives retained a byelection seat in Uxbridge by campaigning against the London Mayor's controversial ULEZ expansion plans.

According to Mr Wood, however, the formation of Buckinghamshire Council in 2020 had already relegated Marlow to a 'marginalised' position in the county, weakening its chances of meaningful infrastructural change. 

At the Marlow Society's Annual General Meeting in May, one resident raised concerns that growing levels of congestion were "destroying the town" and suggested it could be remedied by the introduction of a 20mph speed limit.

At the time, society executives said they would recommend the implementation of such a speed limit throughout the town to Buckinghamshire Council, but, reflecting on recent government speculation, Mr Wood was not hopeful that action would be imminent. 

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"We do need to reduce speeding in the town, and there are vans and lorries that stop in the middle of the road to unload, causing tailbacks as well as three-way lights that stay in place for long periods.

"Central Marlow is an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) and high-speed limits worsen pollution levels and pose a risk to pedestrians but there are no speed cameras across the busy 'T' area of the town, from Henley Road and West Street across to Spittal and Chapel Street.

"Unfortunately, decisions about these things are made by Buckinghamshire Council - people at Aylesbury County Hall who have no personal investment in the town." 

According to the Buckinghamshire Council website, 20mph speed limits are only considered for areas "without traffic calming where mean speeds are at or below 24mph".

Publicly available information also states that since a countywide review of speed limits for all public roads in Buckinghamshire was carried out in 2012, the council is no longer funding any further speed limit changes.

There are also no current plans to introduce additional fixed speed cameras across the county.