A plan to carry out a major overhaul of a busy High Wycombe road that would get rid of a traffic “pinch point” amid the building of hundreds of homes has been scrapped – because costs are “escalating”.

Council chiefs said planned work to realign and improve Abbey Barn Lane would help the road network deal with increasing traffic, and serve new housing estates on two former reserve sites along the lane.

The work, the latest version of which would have included a new roundabout at the bottom of Abbey Barn Lane and Kingsmead Road and work to get rid of a pinch-point where the narrow Abbey Barn Lane crosses an old railway bridge, was tipped to cost £7.5 million when plans were first discussed back in 2018.

But an extra £3 million would have been added to the cost through the need to reroute a major gas main as part of the work.

Cash was initially granted by Homes England for the work in October 2019 – before the costs spiralled, leaving a major funding blackhole.

In a statement, Buckinghamshire Council said it became clear during initial ground investigation works that the project costs would far outstrip the budget available.

They said: “Following a review of options in 2020 the council developed a more cost-effective proposal that involved widening the road, replacing the old rail bridge and building a new roundabout at the junction of Abbey Barn Road and Kingsmead Road to provide access to a site for housing at Abbey Barn North.

“As with all major road schemes, thorough feasibility and preliminary design work has been carried out.

“Following this work, the council is taking the pragmatic decision to stop the project, subject to agreement with Homes England regarding formal closure of the scheme and related matters.

“This is because of concerns about the scheme’s impacts and effectiveness, rapidly rising costs and overall value for money.

“With a large shortfall in the budget available and the continued risk of further cost rises the council has to make hard choices about its priorities.

“Significant factors that led to this decision was the need to re-route a major gas main, which would add £3 million to the cost of the project and further ground investigation works which revealed ground conditions were more challenging than anticipated.”

Council leader Martin Tett says he is aware that parts of Abbey Barn Lane are still earmarked for further housing developments and that any plans will involve the community’s involvement.

He said: “Martin Tett is Leader of Buckinghamshire Council and portfolio holder for Strategic Infrastructure. He said: “We have to make sure any major schemes like this deliver value for money for residents and are simply worth the disruption and expense. And that ultimately, they are the right scheme for the local area.

“As issues arose with this project during feasibility, it became ever clearer that these plans weren’t right in their current form. The impact of inflation on the cost of this scheme is also a key factor.

“It’s important to know when to pull back and cancel a project with escalating costs that won’t deliver for residents.

 “I am very conscious that this area is earmarked for some future development and want to reassure residents that any future plans in this area will be worked up in consultation with the local community.”

Two reserve sites on Abbey Barn Lane – Abbey Barn North and South – were released for development by Wycombe District Council in 2014, with Berkeley Homes already Abbey Barn Park at the top of the hill.

There are also plans to build a housing estate on the Gomm Valley nearby.