Calls for planning inspector to judge Aylesbury link road plans
Stoke Mandeville Parish Council aren't happy with the designs
Last updated 1st Apr 2021
Part of the new Aylesbury link road will 'tower over the area and blight hundreds of homes'.
That's according to Stoke Mandeville Parish Council, who say the design for the road past their village should be reviewed by a government inspector.
Stoke Mandeville Parish Council has asked the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick MP, to exercise his legal power to stop Bucks Council taking the decision about the design of the new road.
The Parish Council think that a planning inspector should make the decision instead, because of important national issues involved with the design of the road.
What are the council's concerns?
In a letter to the Secretary of State, the Parish Council says that, because HS2 is only funding the cheapest possible bridge design for the SEALR, the road has a 'particularly brutal and unsympathetic design'.
The Parish Council points out that the SEALR is a straight dual carriageway rising on a steep embankment to a visual height of 12 metres above ground level, some 7 metres above the roof heights of the houses in nearby Stoke Grange.
The Parish Council conclude that the SEALR will be a 'visual and noise eyesore' and 'blight a significant part of Aylesbury Garden Town'.
The Parish Council argue that allowing the SEALR to go ahead as proposed by Bucks Council would bring the Garden Town movement into disrepute and 'cast doubt on the sincerity' of the Government's Garden Town strategy.
The PC also argue that allowing the SEALR to go ahead as proposed would be against Mr Jenrick's own recent announcement that new buildings and structures should have high quality and beautiful designs.
The PC also point out that the high bridge would be visible from Stoke Mandeville Stadium, home of the Paralympic Movement, but would be inaccessible to wheelchair users because of the long steep approaches which, the Council says, would be a 'national and international embarrassment for the UK'.
A spokesperson for Stoke Mandeville Parish Council, said:
"The Parish Council accept that new link roads need to be built to relieve congestion and to serve the housing developments planned for Stoke Mandeville and other areas around Aylesbury.
"But only in Stoke Mandeville is the link road taking the form of a 12-metre-high elevated dual carriageway, towering over the area and blighting hundreds of homes.
"To protect our residents, we would like a better design for the SEALR, such as an underpass under the rail line or a different highway design altogether, for example like that used in the Hampden Fields development. We hope that the Secretary of State will recognise the force of our arguments and prevent this brutal eyesore and blight from being built in the heart of Aylesbury Garden Town".
Andrew Clark, who spoke opposing the SEALR design when it was considered by Bucks Council, said:
"The SEALR design is another way that HS2 is damaging Aylesbury and Stoke Mandeville. Because HS2 is paying for the SEALR railway bridge, and will only pay for the cheapest possible option, the SEALR is forced to take the form of a very high elevated dual carriageway.
"If HS2 was willing to look at other options, the SEALR could have a much less intrusive and damaging design suitable for a Garden town".
Bucks Council's view
A spokesperson for the Council told us:
"The SEALR planning application was recently unanimously approved by the Strategic Sites Committee subject to conditions from the planning authority.
"This application was submitted following significant consultation with the public and local stakeholders. The public engagement included two presentations to Stoke Mandeville Parish Council where no significant issues with the scheme were raised.
"The height of the bridge is set by the requirement to clear the railway by approximately 6.5m from the railway track to the underside of the structure. This height is set by Network Rail and we need their approval to take forward the project.
"Other options including an underpass were explored during the scheme’s development.
"An underpass was ruled out due to groundwater issues, the requirement for ongoing pumping of water, poor ground conditions and the additional cost of constructing an underpass and the significant disruption to an existing railway line which could have led to part of the railway having to be rebuilt."
They say significant mitigation is being proposed as part of the project including:
- Green walls as part of the bridge structure
- A low noise surface and noise barriers to mitigate noise
- An ecology corridor under the bridge (adding an additional 11 meters to the length of the bridge)
- Significant planting including approximately 5000 trees to help screen the road.
Street lighting will not be provided on the road other than the roundabouts and approaches.
The height of 12m is only reached on the south western side of the structure due to the land being significantly lower on this side of the railway and it is on the opposite side to the housing.
The scheme does allow for ramped access onto the structure to ensure access onto the road for all users. In addition, the scheme has allowed space for future rights of way under the structure on both sides to facilitate improved North/South access.