‘Our safety is at risk’: Wendover residents blast HS2 over lorries using narrow lane

Wendover residents have blasted the company behind HS2 for its plans to send lorries down a narrow street in the town.

HS2 Ltd said it needed to access Dobbins Lane to work on the next phase of the new London-to-Midlands high speed railway line.

Its contractor EKFB is proposing to build a 4m by 3m spring chamber in farmland northwest of Wendover and upgrade the access track to allow future maintenance.

The chamber takes water from naturally occurring springs and releases it into watercourses to manage flows.

However, Wendover residents have objected to the need for HS2 to access Dobbins Lane to build the chamber ahead of a forthcoming planning application to Buckinghamshire Council for the works.

“They are proposing to compromise the safety of vulnerable people, pedestrians and road users in and around Wendover’s streets,” Dobbins Lane resident David Cobb told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

He and others have now gathered around 550 signatures in 10 days for a petition against HS2’s plans to send lorries down the road, and they aim to get around 1,000 in total.

HS2 Ltd has proposed a maximum of 12 return HGV trips visiting the site per day during the busiest three weeks of the 12–14-week period for the works.

The company says for most of the time the daily average would be more like five to eight HGVs per day, but residents warn the plans compromise their safety.

David said: “This is not just Dobbins Lane. This is actually the lorries navigating their way through the tortuous streets around South Street and across a very awkward mini roundabout, which has witness many near misses and down a very congested Dobbins Lane.”

The resident said his wife was involved in a three-vehicle accident in this area of town towards the end of last year.

He added: “It does happen. We are not being emotional. It is real. Accidents do happen and people’s lives do matter.”

Lib Dem campaigner Seb Berry told the LDRS HS2’s proposals, which have been ‘hanging over’ local residents since early 2024 ‘truly beggars belief’.

He said: “I defy anyone to take a walk along South Street and Dobbins Lane and conclude that this is an appropriate route for multiple HGV movements for over three months.

“Buckinghamshire Council should have made it abundantly clear to HS2 at the pre-planning application phase, that their proposals were completely unacceptable, but they clearly didn’t.”

HS2 Ltd claimed it was trying to reduce disruption for local people during the construction of the railway line and would put in place measures to ensure safe access via Dobbins Lane.

A spokesperson said: “This includes making sure there is only a single HGV on the lane at any one time, limiting their speed to 20mph and managing 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.”