‘Much-needed Buckingham footpath must be built for children’s safety’

The town council campaigned for the speed limit on Tingewick Road to be lowered to 30mph, after construction began on the St Rumbold’s Fields development.

Previously, there was a 50mph limit on the part of the road by the new 398-home estate, which the town council called ‘dangerously high’.

Bucks Council has agreed to reduce the speed limit – but only to 40mph.

Now Buckingham Town Council’s planning committee says work should begin right away on an agreed upgrade to part of the Railway Walk, so St Rumbold’s residents can get safely to the London Road schools and the industrial estate on foot or by bike.

A Section 106 agreement is in place, using developer contributions, for the route of the old railway – the Scenic Walk at the Tingewick Road end and Railway Walk from the university car park to the bypass – to become a combined cycle and pedestrian path with street lighting, with access to Chandos Road via a ‘permissive path’ through university land.

The town council says the footway/cycleway should have been constructed before any of the houses were occupied.

Currently, schoolchildren and employees of companies on the Industrial Park have to negotiate the mud and rough surface of the Scenic Walk, or cross a 40mph road to use the footpath on the north side of Tingewick Road to go through the town.

Councillor Mark Cole, who chairs the town council’s Planning Committee, said: “We will continue to push for the speed limit to be lowered to 30mph, but meantime we call on the developers to meet their obligation under the S106 agreement to construct this much-needed footpath.

"If it is not usable for pedestrians and cyclists, then car use will increase, against all national and local initiatives to get people out of their cars.”

A spokesperson for the St Rumbold’s Fields developer, Barratt Homes, said: “Our Section 106 agreement at St Rumbold’s Fields covers a wide range of obligations.

"In regards to Railway Walk, this obligation is strictly in the form of a contribution of approximately £240,000 to what is now Buckinghamshire Council, to construct a three metre-wide pedestrian route to connect residents to the Royal Latin School, university, and town centre.

"Barratt Homes has fulfilled this obligation with payment made to the council to allow this work to proceed under its direction.”

Bucks Council's cabinet member for transport, Steven Broadbent, said: "The developer of St Rumbold's Fields, Barratt Homes, has paid us a S106 funding contribution for the purpose of constructing a route along the former railway line, referred to as the Railway Walk.

“We are responsible for delivering this project and will engage with Buckingham Town Council when the scheme is being progressed.

"Under the terms of this S106 contribution there is not an obligation for this project to have been delivered prior to the occupation of homes on the development site.

"In terms of the construction of the connecting pathways within the development site, including a link through St Rumbold’s Park to the former railway line, these are the responsibility of Barratt Homes to deliver. We have been in liaison with the developer regarding these works."