One of the most commonly voiced concerns over the scale of new house construction in Haddenham is our constrained road infrastructure and the pressure that will be brought to bear by all the additional vehicles that residents of new homes will bring.
The large development planned for the Aston Road/Glebe site will create 280 new homes and add up to 560 vehicles to Haddenham's roads. An additional planning application is currently with AVDC for a very large development north or Rosemary Lane which, if approved, with deliver a similar number of extra vehicles.
A significant number of new residents will be choosing to move to Haddenham because of its rail links to London and Oxford. How many of those rail commuters will be walking or cycling to the station? How many will prefer to drive, travelling via Woodways or Church End/Station Road and adding significantly to the serious congestion that takes place at school start and finish times?
And what proportion of those commuters will choose to pay for parking at the station rather than seek free roadside parking?
Is anyone listening to the voice of concerned residents?
Here's the latest PR statement from Bucks County Council – your editor will leave readers to make up their own minds.
New guide to keep developers on track with their transport connections
New housing estates and business parks should be well-connected to transport, say Buckinghamshire County Council. And they've drawn up new guidelines to help developers meet these needs.
It's all in the cause of keeping the county thriving and attractive, says Mark Shaw, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Transport.
He said the guidelines would help developers to understand the County Council's ethos and values towards growth, and the high standards of community development expected, without having to wade through tomes of policies.
"We know growth is happening in Buckinghamshire and it's important that we help this growth to happen in the right way," said Mark. "These guidelines are signposts to make it easier for developers to provide well-connected housing estates and business parks that meet their own transport needs, are healthy, safe and sustainable."
The guidelines, which will be available online, set out County Council policies that aim to ensure new housing estates:
- Minimise effects on surrounding roads.
- Encourage cycling, walking and use of public transport.
- Provide the right number of parking spaces.
- Connect well to existing services and facilities.
- Safeguard rights of way and create new public paths to improve connections.
- Ensure safe streets that encourage the right traffic speeds.
- Allow dustcarts and emergency vehicles good access.
- Incorporate sustainable drainage to avoid flooding, and...
- Are great communities to live in with a sense of "place"
Mark said that as highways authority, the County Council statutorily comments on planning applications, and he hoped these guidelines would help developers get the travel and transport aspects of their plans well-ordered to avoid time-consuming and costly alterations further down the line.
Mark is inviting residents, businesses and developers to have their say on these guidelines for growth in Buckinghamshire through a public consultation which opened this week and continues until Friday 22nd September. You can find the online consultation here.
