Phase 1 of the South East Aylesbury Link Road gains approval

Phase 1 of the South East Aylesbury Link Road has been approved.

Work on the Aylesbury Link Road set to start during autumn 2021, subject to land purchases.

The South East Aylesbury Link Road (SEALR) was unanimously granted planning permission at a public meeting of the Strategic Sites Planning Committee on Thursday 11th February 2021.

The planned £35.5 million dual-carriageway road will link the A413 Wendover Road and B4443 Lower Road.

The South East Aylesbury Link Road will relieve the impact on the town’s Walton Gyratory caused by the A4010 Stoke Mandeville Relief Road which is being delivered through the HS2 Hybrid Act.

At just under a mile long, the South East Aylesbury Link Road will connect at Lower Road with the Stoke Mandeville Relief Road and will also connect at Wendover Road with Aylesbury’s Southern Link Road, set out in the planning application by the developers of the proposed Hampden Fields development.

The SEALR planning application CC/0015/20 can be viewed on the Buckinghamshire Council website at https://publicaccess.buckscc.gov.uk/online-applications.

Buckinghamshire Council Leader, Martin Tett, said: ‘This is brilliant news. The South East Aylesbury Link Road is a key part of our plans for a new orbital route around Aylesbury. When complete this will help relieve that early morning ‘grid lock’ that so many are familiar with as they try to get into Aylesbury or drive through it in more normal times.‘

The £35.5m cost of designing and building the link road will be met from a government Local Growth Fund grant through Buckinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership and from local developer contributions, while HS2 will pay for the construction of the bridge needed to carry the link road across the Aylesbury to London railway line.

Construction includes two new roundabouts, flood alleviation ponds and extensive landscaping.

Following feedback from public exhibitions in 2018, link road plans have been changed to move the road slightly further away from the Stoke Grange estate. This was as far as the scheme could be moved without impacting on properties directly on Wendover Road.

Other noise reduction features include a three metre high noise barrier, an extensive tree planting programme, and a steeper embankment design to reduce traffic noise. The scheme is also adding over 10% biodiversity net gain to the area.

Richard Harrington, Chief Executive of Buckinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: ‘We are delighted to be supporting this key transport scheme for Aylesbury with £13.5m Local Growth Funding. This new route will connect and enable development of major new housing and employment locations to the south of Aylesbury and ensure better regional transport connectivity.‘

The South East Aylesbury Link Road forms part of Buckinghamshire Council’s long term vision for an orbital route around Aylesbury to draw traffic away from the town centre and relieve congestion. One section is already built, one is under construction and five more are under development, including the South East Aylesbury Link Road.

Buckinghamshire Council is also bringing forward plans for an extension to the South East Aylesbury Link Road Phase 1, Phase 2 details of which can be found on the scheme website at www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/sealr.

*Source of article : Press release from Buckinghamshire Council.