Next stage for Aylesbury's link road project
Bucks Council are looking to buy-up land for the new South-Eastern link road.
We're moving closer to the next part of Aylesbury's new link road system.
What are described as 'major steps' have been taken for the South-Eastern Link Road.
These are to start to buy up land between Lower Road and the A413 and create the junctions.
You can have a say for the next six weeks.
Moving the link road plan forward
Before the first turf can be cut, Buckinghamshire Council needs to buy the necessary land, make changes to the existing road network, and replace any open space lost to the new road.
It's the different types of legal order necessary to enable the Council to start building that are being issued this week.
These include a 'Side Roads Order' to allow the Council to create two new roundabouts and feeder roads, and to convert the stubs of the remaining roads to serve existing housing.
Also, a 'Compulsory Purchase Order' will be served to ensure the land needed for the £35.5 million dual-carriageway road is available at the right time for planned construction to start in mid to late 2021.
Why is the road needed?
The Council's transport modelling has shown that HS2's planned realignment of the A4010 - to form the Stoke Mandeville Relief Road - would cause more congestion at the Walton Gyratory.
The South East Aylesbury Link Road - which will connect the B4443 Lower Road with the A413 Wendover Road to extend the planned Stoke Mandeville Relief Road - provides the best solution to avoid this congestion.
The Link Road is designed to improve connectivity around Aylesbury, will connect to a future Southern Link Road from the A418 Oxford Road, and form part of the Council's long term vision for an orbital route around the town.
Have your say on the link road plans
Residents will have a further opportunity to have their say, thanks to a raft of consultations taking place during the next couple of months.
First, six weeks have been set aside for representations about the Side Roads and Compulsory Purchase Orders - details at www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/sealr - starting on Wednesday 16 September.
Objections should be made directly to the National Transport Casework Team (DfT) at nationalcasework@dft.gov.uk
Second, the Council will apply to the Ministry of Communities, Housing and Local Government for permission to substitute a small piece of open space needed to build a roundabout at Wendover Road, and the Ministry will set the date for representations.
And, thirdly, an update to the Environmental Impact Assessment, required as part of the planning process, will set in motion a six-week statutory consultation expected to start in October.
Nick Naylor, Cabinet Member for Transport, said talks with 13 landowners were already well advanced, and he was hopeful land purchase agreements could be negotiated well before the need for a Compulsory Purchase Order inquiry.
He said:
"This is a major step forward in helping to realise the long-term aspiration for an orbital route around Aylesbury, to draw through traffic out of the town centre, and to ease congestion.
"Compulsory purchase orders may sound draconian but they're there as a backstop to protect all parties.
"We'd rather reach negotiated settlements, as a compulsory purchase order inquiry is a big burden on the council taxpayer."
Early utilities investigations began along the link road route on Monday (14 September) and will go on until mid-October.
Manned two-way off-peak traffic lights (9.30am-3.30pm) will control traffic in Wendover Road just north of the Hampden Hall roundabout from 28 September to 2 October, and in Lower Road near the Belmore Centre from 5-14 October.