2:04pm Thursday 9th July 2009
By Oliver Evans
TRAFFIC bosses last night said the pros of a radical re-think of High Wycombe town centre outweighed “dis-benefits” such as displaced and extra traffic and falling house prices.
The plan is to knock down Abbey Way flyover between the Eden roundabout and the roundabout by Wycombe Hospital, creating a pedestrian space closed to traffic.
Instead, traffic will be diverted through Desborough via a new road linking the A40 to Westbourne Street then Desborough Road, Rutland Street and onto Queen Alexandra Road.
The plan – given a mixed reaction at a public meeting last night – will bring traffic out by the junction of Staples and Marlow Hill.
Another meeting will be held tonight on controversial housing plans for Terriers, Daws Hill and Gomm Valley in High Wycombe and Bourne End (see link, bottom of story).
Wycombe District Council planning officer Chris Schmidt-Reid said: “There is going to be a balance here between the benefits we are going to deliver and the displacement of traffic.
“I can’t say to you at the moment, hand on heart, that everyone is going to benefit.”
He added: “There will be dis-benefits.”
And he revealed the council was £11m short for the £20.9m project, to happen between 2015 and 2026.
Traffic boss John Kemplen said the plan was a “trade-off” between connecting the town centre by removing the flyover and creating space for development.
Cars would be displaced, with the Priory Road area likely to be hit, he said.
“We will have to look at discouraging people from there.”
And he said: “We think that park and walk is one element of the future transport strategy that we will have to promote to make this work.”
Map of all council plans, click pointers for details:
View Wycombe plans in a larger map
But some gave the plans a lukewarm reception at The Hub, Easton Street, High Wycombe.
Brian Gilbert said: “It can’t see anything wrong with the traffic as it is now.”
Warning that Queen Alexandra Road is “very crowded most times of the day” he said: “The system works.”
Another said: “I don’t see a problem with the way it is at the moment.”
And another said warned of the impact of re-directed traffic on Suffield Road.
“If you own a house there now, in the next 20 years you wouldn’t be able to sell it because of this.”
And one man walked out after residents were told only three questions were allowed as presentations by three officers overran to an hour. More questions were then allowed.
But Chris Woodman, spokesman for the Wycombe Society conservation group, said: “I personally think it is a wonderful vision.”
Mr Schmidt-Reid said the flyover is a “very strong physical barrier” and said the plans would allow for much-needed “substantial amount of new office development.”
These could replace the Royal Mail and council offices on Queen Victoria Road, which would also be two-way, allowing northbound cars to turn right into Easton Street.
And making Archway, between Eden roundabout and Morrison’s, a single lane road would create a “much more friendly environment”, he said.
Homes and businesses are planned for the former nearby Compare and De La Rue site – and Mr Schmidt-Reid said this would see more people walk to Hughenden and the countryside.
Yet he said it was not known if a new water feature for the public space to replace Abbey Way would be the River Wye or a water feature.
And he said of the cash shortfall: “Funding is and remains a challenge but it is not at a level that cannot be overcome.”
The council is consulting on the plan, the Wycombe Development Framework, as it has the final say on what development is allowed in the district.
This means, for example, that buildings can only be used for some purposes, such as business or housing, on different sites.
Council leader Lesley Clarke said at the end of the meeting: “I do hope you feel as excited about this as I do.
“Wycombe will be a fantastic place if we get this all done.”
The following meetings are also taking place on other proposals:
M40 Gateway Monday 13 July 7-9pm. Amersham & Wycombe College, Flackwell Heath Campus.
Desborough Area (exhibition) Wednesday 15 July 2-8pm. Green Street Youth & Community Centre, High Wycombe.
Sustainability Thursday 16 July 7-9pm. John Hampden School, High Wycombe.
Respond to WDF Consultation, Planning Policy Team, Wycombe District Council, Freepost HY120, Planning and Sustainability WDC 63, Queen Victoria Road, High Wycombe, HP11 1BB. Email spatial_planning@wycombe.gov.uk.
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