Resolution for West Wycombe Village and Bradenham

In order to protect the special characters of West Wycombe Village and Bradenham Village we ask that neither the A40 Oxford Road, the A4010 Wycombe Road and Bradenham Road should be used by construction traffic. If there is no alternative to either of these roads being used by HS2 construction traffic, then the National West Wycombe Trust requests that controls are placed on the volume, timing and vehicle type. These controls should be agreed with the National Trust and community stakeholders in order to protect the special character of each village as historically important and living communities. Village

Peter Nixon, Director of Land, Outdoors and Nature for the National Trust: ‘The National Trust and many others feel that HS2 needs to be built to exemplary and Bradenham standards of design, not only mitigating the impacts on people, places and the environment, but with sights raised to go further and to deliver benefits along the route. This is an opportunity for Parliament to write it’s signature across the landscape and leave a legacy to be proud of.’ Quintessential historic Buckinghamshire HS2 villages – in trust for the nation Inside: © National Trust 2015. The National Trust is an independent registered charity, number 205846. The impacts of HS2 Photography © National Trust Images/John Miller/Rupert Truman/Paul Harris. Printed on Nu Stone, an environmentally friendly water-resistant material, that is recyclable and biodegradable. Our proposals to improve HS2 History of West Wycombe Village and Bradenham

• West Wycombe Village was the first village to be acquired by the National Trust. • Most of the cottages in the village were sold to the National Trust in 1934 by the Royal Society of Arts, following repair and modernisation of their 16th and 17th century fabric. • Today, a large proportion of the historic village of West Wycombe is owned and protected by the National Trust, including: • 52 cottages, • 3 pubs, • 7 commercial lets, • The Post Office • One of the last remaining chair factories in the Chilterns. • Between summer 2012 and 2015 the Trust has embarked upon an extensive and major £3 million refurbishment project, involving repairs and improvements, including energy efficiency works to roofs and insulation. • The National Trust is not a typical landlord and whilst Impacts at West Wycombe Village and Bradenham managing its let estate for income generation, does so for a specific public interest purpose. Traffic count data estimates around 11,000 vehicles use the A40 via West Wycombe village daily, which already In 2005 Wycombe District Council carried out a Conservation Area Character Survey. The study provides effects the character and fabric of the village. background and context to the Village and describes West Wycombe as: The width of carriageway is insufficient to allow a car and heavy vehicle to pass one another. ‘ One of the most important conservation areas and historic landscapes in the county, and HS2 construction traffic, especially HGVs, will further threaten the protection of this historic village through: indeed in England; a perfectly preserved microcosm of a traditional English rural idyll.’ Impact by HGVs • Bradenham is a picturesque village in the Chiltern hills where cottages cluster around the village green. • Strike from vehicles, particularly the projecting jetties which are at risk from high-sided vehicles. • It is mentioned in the Domesday Book although its origins are Anglo Saxon and earlier with. Immitigable traffic noise and vibration • Most of the buildings date from the 18th century. • Soundproofing options are highly unlikely to secure listed building consent due to their effect on the fabric • The village is dominated by the Grade II* listed Bradenham Manor with Grade II gardens, which was rebuilt and historic character of the buildings. in the late 17th century. • T he vulnerable nature of the listed buildings means it would be unwise to risk exposing the buildings to any • Benjamin Disraeli, whose father rented the Manor, set his last novel Endymion (1880) at Bradenham. elevation in the current exposure to ground borne vibration. • Bradenham is a designated conservation area containing 18 listed buildings described by Increased in corrosive action of Road Salts Wycombe District Council as ‘extremely picturesque’. • Particularly damaging to fragile historic buildings and increased vehicles will inevitably accelerate this action. • Surf ace treatments to the buildings are unlikely to achieve listed building consent, and are also unlikely to be compatible with the historic materials.