Stephen Rotherham, who lives in the old town and works in Aylesbury town centre, is outraged that taxpayers will be made to pick up the bill for a traffic management scheme he claims is not needed.

The work by Bucks County Council follows the introduction of a 20mph speed limit into the old town, along roads such as Castle Street and Rickfords Hill.

Sian Thomas, team leader – traffic management from Bucks County Council, has confirmed that there is no record of any accidents at the spot where the road safety system is already being constructed – just outside Sainsbury's in Buckingham Street – for at least five years.

Mr Rotherham said: "It seems to me that BCC is spending approximately £40,000 on a traffic- calming measure in a place where there haven't been any accidents.

"Is this the tip of the iceberg? How many other ill-conceived schemes are ratepayers' money being wasted on?"

Ms Thomas said in an email to Mr Rotherham: "This scheme has not been promoted as a 'casualty reduction' scheme primarily, however, any reduction to speed would undoubtedly improve safety and lessen the chances of a pedestrian being injured or worse.

"Although there does not seem to be a particularly bad problem with crashes on Buckingham Street, the ethos of a 20mph zone is to educate drivers to the fact that the whole of the zone is now a 20mph speed limit, hopefully discouraging a mind set that is no longer welcome in Aylesbury town centre."

For more on this story, pick up a copy of The Bucks Herald, out now.

Should money be spent on safety improvements? Lets us know your thoughts by clicking the comment button below.