High Speed 2 (HS2) Ltd says that delays caused by a council's rejection of proposals for an underground chamber and ditch could cost taxpayers “tens of millions of pounds”. Buckinghamshire Council’s strategic sites committee overwhelmingly rejected plans for work to be undertaken in Wendover over fears that it could harm views of the Chilterns National Landscape.

The plans, a joint venture between HS2’s Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial Construction and Bam Nuttall, had hoped to extend an existing agricultural access track, install a spring chamber and flow chamber, and upgrade an existing ditch in farmland to the east of A413. The Environment Agency has previously highlighted the work as being crucial to its approval for the construction of the Wendover Green tunnel and the Wendover North cutting. The tunnel is one of five set to be built between London and Birmingham, created to reduce the visual impact on the Chilterns landscape.

The work sits outside of the area designated by Parliament under Schedule 17 of the High Speed Rail Act 2017, meaning councillors were able to reject the application.

One of the biggest concerns related to construction traffic access to the site is that it would force them to travel through the small town.

The project had seen widespread disapproval from locals with residents staging a protest in February against the disruption and handing the council a petition signed by more than 800 people.

Several councillors highlighted that they did not object to the work itself, but to the location of the access track planned to be used by construction vehicles.

Councillor Phil Gomm called on HS2 to “listen to the people” to find a solution going forward.

He said: “There is an alternative. That’s what we’d like them to go and do. We agree to the chamber, we don’t agree to the access and the impact it will have on the people of Wendover.”

The application was rejected by eight votes to one, with legal experts predicting that if it was blocked on the grounds of access, the council could be liable to pay the costs of an HS2 appeal.

In response, Mr Gomm added: "Let's oppose it on the grounds of the landscape, if that’s the case.”

An HS2 Ltd spokesperson said: “We are disappointed by the committee’s decision given that the council’s own officers recommended approval.

“As was made clear during the committee meeting, the cost to the taxpayer of this decision risks running into tens of millions of pounds as a result of knock-on delays to the construction of nearby structures.”