Buckinghamshire Council has approved plans to spend more than £500,000 of taxpayer and developer money on a pedestrian crossing and to extend yellow lines in Wycombe.

The council has signed off plans to install a raised-table pedestrian crossing aimed at improving walking and cycling access between Keep Hill Woods and The Rye.

The crossing will be located on Warren Wood Drive, near the junction with Keep Hill Road and Lime Avenue.

The scheme is designed to support safer movement for pedestrians, cyclists, wheelchair users, and horse riders travelling between the woodland and the park.

In a council report, the project is estimated to cost £535,020, funded by a £281,000 grant from Active Travel England and £256,000 in developer contributions.

The construction cost is estimated at £340,522, with consultation on the plan costing £12,117, preliminary design £75,146 and £25,083 being spent on supervision.

The total cost includes design work, consultation, resurfacing, and accessibility improvements, as well as the construction of the raised crossing and road markings.

As part of the works, the council also plans to cut back vegetation on both sides of the footway and install new tactile paving to assist visually impaired pedestrians. The road will be resurfaced and minor repairs carried out.

To enhance safety, the existing double yellow lines on the south-western side of Warren Wood Drive will be extended by approximately 14.3 metres to help maintain visibility for those crossing the road.

A total of 26 responses were received during the consultation on the proposed improvements.

Of those, seven respondents supported installing the raised table, while 19 opposed it. Views on extending the double yellow lines were more evenly split, with 12 in favour and 14 against.

One resident of Keep Hill Drive said the proposed crossing was “absolutely not needed” and should be placed elsewhere.

They said: “Putting this crossing here will simply exacerbate the already unacceptable problem of motorbikes and electric bikes using this now unnecessarily paved path through the woods linking Daws Hill and London Road.”

However, a Keep Hill Road resident welcomed the plans, saying: “Vehicles often drive too quickly down Warren Wood Drive, and the raised area would slow them down.

“It is increasingly difficult to navigate up and down Keep Hill Road. There is no point in having the yellow lines. They are currently ignored by many motorists who park on them.”

Another Keep Hill Drive resident added: “This will stop dangerous parking on the corner.”

Ward councillors Lesley Clarke and Mahboob Hussain both said they fully support the plans.

Active Travel England is part of the Department for Transport (a UK Government department), funded by national taxpayers.