Buckingham Railway Walk – Signalised Toucan Crossings & Shared Use Path Improvements

Overview

Buckinghamshire Council is proposing upgrades to the Buckingham Railway Walk, a popular pathway running from the A421 (near Great Slade) to Tingewick Road. These improvements aim to make the route safer and more accessible for walking, wheeling, and cycling, and include two new crossing points to support onward journeys.

We would like to hear your thoughts on this.

Background

The Buckingham Railway Walk is situated along part of the old Buckingham railway line (below, Figure 1). This pathway also has access to the University of Buckingham, residential areas, local schools and nearby workplaces.

Figure 1 - Location of the Buckingham Railway Walk

Buckingham Railway Walk also contains a rich variety of wildlife and flora. However, there are opportunities to improve the route surface and improve access to and from the surrounding areas to further promote its use by residents.

This project is funded by:

• Section 106 contributions from local developments
• A grant from the UK Government (Active Travel England)

It aligns with the Council’s transport adopted strategies:

• Buckingham Transport Strategy
• Buckingham Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan-lite (LCWIP-lite).

Further to this, the Department for Transport recently released guidance to Local Authorities to help them design Cycle Infrastructure - Department of Transport - Cycle Infrastructure Design - Local Transport Note 1/20 (July 2020).

Our Aims

We want to upgrade the route into a shared-use path that is:

• Accessible for walking, wheeling and cycling
• Environmentally sensitive, preserving the area’s ecology and heritage, as a result we are not proposing dedicated street lighting in order to minimise the impact of light pollution

Key improvements include:

• Widening the path to 2.5-3.5 metres (see consultation plans for details)
• Improved surfacing for smoother, safer travel
• Two new signalised crossings (Toucan crossings) at the A421 and Tingewick Road
• Better access at the northern end including an improved ramp gradient, seating, and wayfinding signs
• Safety upgrades to increase parapet heights on the former railway bridges
• Low-level solar lighting to guide users

Whilst we aim to minimise our impacts on the environment when we come to build the scheme, there will be localised removal of vegetation and small trees to facilitate construction works of the improved path.

Additionally, where identified by our Arboricultural (Tree) Officers, we will also remove damaged and/or diseased trees immediately adjacent to the path to improve the local environment and accessibility.

A future Phase 2 will then focus on the section of the route owned by The University of Buckingham incorporating the former station platform and car park. Until then, this section will remain a permissive path.

Related Documents

Please refer to the following consultation documents before you proceed towards the Online Survey:

1. Letter to Residents / Business Owners (0.213MB)
2. On - Street (Site) Notice (0.162MB)
3. Consultation Plans (2.91MB)
4. Statement of Reasons (0.114MB)
5. Newspaper Advert (0.156MB) - This will be published via Bucks Herald. You can also view this via the Public Notice Portal.
6. Draft Shared - Use Path Order (0.947MB)

How to have your say

You can comment on the proposals in one of the following ways:

• Complete the online survey using the link at the bottom of the page.
• Email us at: highways.consultations@buckinghamshire.gov.uk
• Write to us at Design Services. Buckinghamshire Highways, Floor 10, Walton Street Offices, Aylesbury, HP20 1UA.

If you have any question you can contact us on the email above.

Please tell us your views by 11:59pm on Friday 12th September 2025.

What Happens Next

We will consider your responses and prepare a report which will be reviewed by the Council Leader, who will then make a decision about the proposals. 

The results of the consultation and the Council’s decision will be published on this webpage. Statutory Consultees will be informed of the decision once it has been made, via the website. 

Privacy

We will use the information you provide here only for this activity. We will store the information securely in line with data protection laws and will not share or publish any personal details. Survey responses will be analysed using Microsoft products including Copliot, Excel and Word. For more information about data and privacy, please see our Privacy Policy.

If you have questions about data and privacy, please email us on dataprotection@buckinghamshire.gov.uk. Or you can write to our Data Protection Officer at Buckinghamshire Council, The Gateway, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury, HP19 8FF.