Buckingham roundabout completion facing long delays after utility company burst water main

The residents of Buckingham are still awaiting the completion of a new roundabout on the A421 more than 3 months after it was originally due to be finished.

The roundabout was planned to be built by the end of 2018, in time for work to begin on the new housing development on the Tingewick Road, but suffered an early setback when a pipe was broken by Anglian Water on 28 November, causing multiple houses to flood and water discoloration.

This understandably resulted in delays which have had a knock-on effect to the developers of the housing estate, but there has been growing frustration among residents and local councillors at the length of the delay.

Councillor Robin Stuchbury said:

“Evidence suggests there’s going to be long delays in completion of this roundabout. I thought this should be brought to the public's attention since I've been questioned numerous times in the street about what on earth is delaying the Tingewick roundabout.”

A project engineer at Anglian Water wrote the following in a communication to councillor Stuchbury:

“The remaining works are currently being planned for completion in two stages and subject to final approval will be programmed into our contractors schedule as soon as possible and are expected to take 6-8 weeks to complete.”

With approximately four weeks of work for developers to do afterwards, this would give a completion date of mid-June – some six months late.

BCC Councillor, Charlie Clare, said:

“Anglian Water seem to have treated the residents of Buckingham with utter contempt. They have provided no plausible explanation why they have taken to long – four months and counting – to get on top of the water main issues at Tingewick Road. Their lack of action has been solely responsible for a huge delay in the construction of the Tingewick Road roundabout. Even now, contractors are unsure when they will be able to return to finish the work that is so desperately needed. There is absolutely no excuse for the way that this utility company has treated us. It is appalling!”

However, Anglian Water have since revised their timelines and are now planning on completing their work before Easter.

Anglian Water provided us with the following statement:

“Our teams have been working alongside the Local Authority since the end of last year to divert a water main and allow the completion of the new roundabout and street works at the junction of Tingewick Rd and the A421.

“Unfortunately, during the initial stages of the work, a burst in the water main caused some discoloration in the water for local customers. Our teams have undertaken intense planning and redesign for the work, to prevent any further disruption to our customers’ water supply.

“The work to move the water main will now be completed before the Easter weekend. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this work has caused, our priority is always to ensure the provision of a clean, safe water supply for our customers and our teams will be back on site next week to complete the work as quickly as possible.”