Labour tries to take credit for new 1.1-mile road being delivered by Bucks Council

Labour has tried to take credit for a new 1.1-mile dual carriageway being delivered by Conservative-led Buckinghamshire Council.

The new government falsely claimed in a press release on Friday it had ‘given the green light’ for the South East Aylesbury Link Road.

Aylesbury’s Labour MP Laura Kyrke-Smith told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “By giving this vital scheme the green light, and providing £13.4 million, our Labour government will improve local journeys here in Aylesbury and boost the economy beyond.”

However, it is the council, not the government, which raised the money for the £147.9 million road and led the project, which it is expected will be completed in autumn 2026.

The government has only signed off the business case for the project, including £13.4 million which was already agreed under a previous government.

Council leader Martin Tett said the council was the co-ordinator and lead authority for the link road, which he said would ‘ease congestion in and around Aylesbury’.

He told the LDRS: “This is a complex project that the council has developed and led on for many years, navigating challenges and securing the full funding to finance the new road.”

The road is built in two sections to form 1.1 miles of new dual carriageway, including three new roundabouts and a new railway bridge across the line to London.

Phase one of the road runs from the B4443 Lower Road to A413 Wendover Road including the bridge over the railway.

Phase two will link the B4443 to the future junction with South West Aylesbury Link Road and Stoke Mandeville Relief Road.

Once complete, the South East Aylesbury Link Road will be part of a new Orbital Link Road around Aylesbury.

Cllr Tett added: “We welcome the confirmation of the £13.4 million funding, agreed by the previous government, as part of the overall £147.9 million cost of the scheme.

“The council has worked extremely hard to secure the necessary finance to deliver this crucial infrastructure for the county which has also seen us successfully secure contributions from Homes England, HS2 Ltd and nearby developments.”

In her own comments on the project on Friday, Ms Kyrke-Smith said she thanked the ‘future of roads minister’ Lilian Greenwood for ‘approving the full business case for the South East Aylesbury Link Road scheme’.

The MP added: “Traffic around Aylesbury has been too slow for too long, producing air pollution in the town centre and discouraging people from using local buses.”