HS2 changes lorries plan in Wendover after strong local backlash

The Buckinghamshire market town is the site of the latest phase of the new London-to-Midlands high speed railway line, which is being built on the western side of A413 Wendover Bypass.

Water is being diverted away from the site by temporary piping, but HS2 Ltd also plans to start building a ‘spring chamber’ in March to further control flows of water in the area.

The company had said its contractor EKFB would need to send up to a dozen lorries a day down the narrow Dobbins Lane to build the chamber on farmland northwest of Wendover, a plan which drew backlash from residents, who have safety concerns about the HGVs.

HS2 Ltd has now said it will ‘significantly’ reduce the number of HGVs that will need to use Dobbins Lane from 150 to around 60, claiming this is an average of one return journey per day for 12 weeks.

The company said its contractors had ‘reviewed the design’ of the access track, which HS2 is upgrading ‘for future maintenance of the spring chamber’.

A ‘simplified’ construction method has been achieved by reducing the amount of aggregate and therefore the number of HGVs needed for the chamber and track upgrades, which are expected to take around 12-14 weeks.

However, Local Liberal Democrat campaigner Seb Berry said HS2’s scaling back of its works in the area was not sufficient.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “Sixty HS2 HGVs using residential roads in Wendover is still 60 too many.

“It smashes the important principle, established during the long HS2 hybrid bill process, that HGV traffic should avoid local town and village centres.

“It also begs the question again, of why no-one at Buckinghamshire council thought to push back against HS2’s original proposals, when they were first discussed with the council nearly a year ago.”

David Cobb is a Wendover resident who has helped organise a petition against HS2’s plans to send lorries down Dobbins Lane, which so far has over 700 signatures.

He told the LDRS: “Residents really are not interested in EKFB and HS2’s suggestions to mitigate the disruption and dangers to residents and road users along South Street and Dobbins Lane. The alternative options carry practically zero risk to anyone.”

The resident says HS2 has made false claims about evaluating the alternative routes as part of the works. He accused the company of compromising people’s safety to complete the ambitious rail project.

A spokesperson for HS2 told the LDRS the company was ‘pleased to confirm’ it was reducing the number of HGVs expected to use Dobbins Lane.

They said: “Their speed will be limited to 20mph, and we will manage the flow of vehicles to avoid the school run.

“Dobbins Lane is already used by HGVs and bin lorries – and there is no reason to think that properly managed HS2 traffic would pose a greater risk to pedestrians or cyclists.”