LOCAL residents and councillors are campaigning to stop HGVs using the whole of Hammersley Lane to access the Gomm Valley building site when construction of new homes begins later this year.
Developers Taylor Wimpey say around 50 heavy lorries a day will use the narrow lane when building reaches it peak.
They’ll include articulated vehicles, rigid lorries and wagons carrying concrete in addition to vans and workers’ cars needing to access the site. The only access will be at the bottom end of Hammersley Lane, on a steep hill and near a sharp bend virtually opposite the junction with Robinson Road.
What’s upset locals is the route Taylor Wimpey proposes. It wants construction traffic coming from the north to travel down the Penn Road from Hazlemere Crossroads, turn right by the Red Lion and Widmer Pond, past Tylers Green First School and then left by St Margaret’s Church/Old Queen’s Head into Hammersley Lane.
In other words right through the middle of the Penn and Tylers Green Conservation Area.
The company says construction traffic from the south should use the A40 and turn into Hammersley Lane at its junction with the A40, although that brings its own problems because they would have to negotiate the narrow part of the road under the railway bridge where there is no footpath for pedestrians or cyclists to use.
Buckinghamshire Council will decide at the end of this month on the proposed routes, but Penn and Tylers Green councillor Jonathan Waters has already told planners the northern route is unacceptable. “Hammersley Lane at the northern section is very narrow and is totally inappropriate for HGV traffic,” he said.
The Penn and Tylers Green Residents’ Society agrees. It says the northern route is “extremely ill-advised and potentially dangerous.” So does Penn Parish Council which says the route is “unsafe, unsuitable and unnecessarily disruptive.”
They all want to see construction traffic from the north using the A355 Amersham by pass to Beaconsfield and use the A40 or M40 to get to Hammersley Lane.
The views of members of the public are not being published by the council because of its planning censorship policy (see April, September and November 2025 blogs).
Taylor Wimpey will this month begin ground works on the part of the Gomm Valley for which it has received detailed planning permission – at the bottom end of Hammersley Lane – and expects to start building the first houses by November.
It anticipates completing the 83 homes on that part of the site by June 2029. It will comprise 43 private homes, 10 first-home units and 30 “affordable” homes (six shared ownership and 24 subsidised).
The company says it will try to avoid deliveries to the site at peak traffic times and at school arrival and leaving times.
You can read their detailed Construction, Traffic and Environmental Management Plan for Phase 1 of the project on this link https://publicaccess.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=TCV2JXESFKU00 (Look under the heading Plan).
See also: Taylor Wimpey’s vow to keep noise and vibration disturbance to a minimum. Story further down this blog.
Penn Street women’s cricket team is the first in the UK to have it own dedicated ground
A NEW women’s cricket team in Penn Street thinks it is the only female team in the country to have its own dedicated ground.
The Hits or Misses Cricket Club took over the lease of the ground opposite the Hit or Miss pub last month.
For years the ground was the home of the pub’s team but after it disbanded there were fears for its future.
Now, the ground’s owner, the Penn Estate, has completed a major renovation of the pavilion and members of Penn Street Cricket Club have redecorated the interior.
The team held an open day last month and has 25 women signed up. It has launched a fund-raising page to help cover costs https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/new-womens-cricket-club-in-bucks?
A club statement read: “Our vision is to bring a cricket ground back to its former glory. We are hoping to start disability cricket next season so will be looking to fund accessible changing facilities.”
It added: “The original Hit or Miss Cricket Club got some of their club photographs framed for us to display in the changing rooms and we put up their old honours board in the kitchen. Although as a club they are not playing any more, we are so pleased to have their support.”
It’s all part of a major new interest in cricket in the area.
Penn and Tylers Green Cricket Club, which begins its season this month, has 23 teams, starting from under-sevens and including a midweek adult mixed team. If you want to get involved as a player, coach, umpire or scorer contact them via their website https://pennandtylersgreen.play-cricket.com
Penn Street Cricket Club’s men’s side has played cricket on Penn Street Common for 142 years and uses the village’s other pub, The Squirrel, as its base (it’s junior side are called The Squirrels).
Meanwhile, in Knotty Green, High Wycombe Cricket Club has completed the formalities and taken over the lease of the village’s cricket ground in Forty Green Road following long negotiations with Penn Parish Council. The ground will act as a home base for Penn and Tylers Green Cricket Club’s third team and help with the development of women’s and junior cricket in the area.
See also: No longer a sticky wicket…Story further down this blog
Local news
League champions – Penn and Tylers Green Football Club’s men’s first team ended their season in the first division of the Combined Counties League as champions, collecting 104 points from 44 games. They now go into the league’s premier division where they will face teams with a much bigger local population, such as Windsor & Eton, Ashford (Middlesex) and Wokingham.
Awaiting the result – Penn’s MP Sarah Green (Lib Dem, Chesham and Amersham) has met housing minister Matthew Pennycook to discuss whether infrastructure in the area is sufficient to meet the demand created by thousands of planned new homes. She hasn’t revealed yet what the outcome was.
Shakespeare tribute – Proceeds from the Chiltern Shakespeare Company’s open air production of As You Like It at Hall Barn, Beaconsfield next month will be in aid of the charity set up in memory of an 18 year old Penn man who died from a rare heart condition in 2013. Myocarditis UK is more than half way to its target of raising £2 million in memory of Alexander Jansons of Beacon Hill. Details of this year’s production, with Fourways Theatre Company, is on this link https://www.chiltern-shakespeare.co.uk
Meanwhile four runners, some of whom knew Alex, completed last month’s London Marathon to raise money for the charity. The charity’s details are on this link https://myocarditisuk.com
Hotel changes – Rayners Penn, which is converting the former Penn School into a luxury hotel complex, is seeking to change some of the basement arrangements already approved in their planning application for “design, efficiency and operational” reasons. Details can be found on its website https://raynerspenn.com
School upgrade – Tylers Green Middle School’s computer suite is being upgraded this term with the introduction of 32 high performance laptops, mainly financed by the school’s friends group.
Speeding motorists – The village speed watch group reported that out of 3,217 vehicles checked for speeding in Penn Road, 105 were reported for exceeding the 30mph limit – the fastest recording 57mph. They say that Hammersley Lane continues to be the road with the greatest number of speeding motorists.
On your marks – Special medals have been struck for next month’s Penn Seven and Fun Runs Day. The Penn 7 medal incorporates the course route while the Ruby Dash medal is designed with the ducks on Widmer Pond in mind. The day on the common – Saturday 6 June – rounds off with the Party by the Pond. This year’s designated charity is the Thomas Ball Fund which helps local children with cancer and their families. Full details plus online entry forms on https://penn7.com
Power appeal – The company wanting to build a battery storage complex at Mop End off the Amersham Road (see last blog) has appealed against Buckinghamshire Council’s decision to refuse it permission. A planning inquiry will be held with the final decision being taken by the Government’s Planning Inspectorate.
Burglars swoop – Police are investigating after three burglaries were reported in the same road – Channer Drive, Tylers Green. No details have been given about what was stolen.
As you were – As expected (see last blog), Earl Howe, who lives in Penn House, has been nominated for a life peerage enabling him to remain in the House of Lords following the abolition of hereditary peers’ right to sit in the Lords, which took effect last month.
Developer struggles – Councillors were told that house builder Bellway is struggling to sell some of the 259 houses it is building at the Pennwood Grange site off the Amersham Road, Hazlemere. Cllr Colin Thirsk told Little Missenden Parish Council that some homes were being offered at 20 per cent below market value to first time buyers in an attempt to boost sales. Houses on the estate range from £525,000 to £955,000.
New docs – Three new doctors, Ed Harvey, Kanni Kalidas and Andrea Roberts will operate from Penn Surgery as cover for Drs Chloe Duke and Faye Boundy, who are both on maternity leave until early next year.
Footpath diversion – The official public footpath which crossed part of Ashwells Field in Tylers Green where 109 homes are to be built has now been diverted to enable it to skirt round the development.
Big top – Hundreds of scouts from across Buckinghamshire will descend on the Penn House Estate over the May Bank Holiday weekend for a circus themed scouts carnival.
En garde – A qualified instructor is launching fencing lessons for children at Tylers Green Village Hall from next month. Taster sessions are being offered via this link https://astonfencingacademy.co.uk/product/introduction-to-fencing/?
Digital newsletter – Chepping Wycombe Parish Council, which includes Tylers Green, now produces its newsletter digitally although some printed copies are available at village community venues. You can view it and subscribe on https://www.cwpc.org.uk/spring-2026-newsletter/ The council’s annual meeting, open to residents, is at the council’s Cock Lane offices on 13 May from 7pm.
Open gardens – The annual Penn and Tylers Green Open Gardens event, in aid of Village Care, takes place on Sunday 7 June. Maps can be obtained from the marquee outside the village hall from 1.30pm to 5.30pm at £5 per person. Around 18 gardens will be open.
Village Show – Penn and Tylers Green Village Show, in the village hall, takes place on Saturday 20 June from 2pm to 4pm. Details of the various classes and how to enter are on this link https://www.pennandtylersgreenvillageshow.com
Team spirit – Penn and Tylers Green Football Club’s women’s team forward Ellie Ahern-Farebrother (in the centre at the back with the medal) completed last month’s London Marathon with most of the rest of the team there in support. She was running for the Sobell House Hospice charity in memory of her mum Nicky. Her fund raising page is https://www.justgiving.com/page/ellie-marathon-for-mum…
Penn Wood’s story featured at Chelsea Flower Show
PENN WOOD is the inspiration for one of the show gardens at Chelsea Flower Show this month.
The Forgotten Forests Garden features the story of Penn Wood which is being brought back to its natural state by the wood’s owners, the Woodland Trust (see last month’s blog).
A spokeswoman for the Royal Horticultural Society, which organises the Chelsea show, said: “Visitors will journey through the transformation of a damaged ancient woodland from a dark, uniform conifer forest into a vibrant, thriving habitat bursting with life, colour and beauty.”
The Trust has spent 20 years restoring Penn Wood to its former glory and asked Chelsea gold medal winner Ashleigh Aylett to design a garden for them based on the story of the wood.
After the show the garden will be donated to a primary school in Newcastle.
Tylers Green First School finalises its 150th anniversary celebrations
PLANS TO celebrate the 150th anniversary of Tylers Green First School are taking shape and its hoped everyone in the community will join in.
On Saturday 4 July the school will throw open its doors for people to look around and enjoy a fete and other celebrations outside in the playground.
An exhibition on the school’s history will be on display. If anyone has any photographs that could be copied and used in the exhibition of their schooldays at Tylers Green please send them in. As headteacher Jude Talbot says, “We have plenty of pictures of buildings, but it’s pictures of children through the ages we really want to see.” You can send them to peter@pennandtylersgreen.com
The school and its parent/teachers association are organising an evening of fun, food, music and celebration in a marquee at Penn and Tylers Green Sports and Social Club on Friday 3 July to which everyone is invited. Details on this link https://www.pta-events.com/tylersgreenfirstschool/index.cfm?event=event&eventId=116588
The PTA is also looking for support for the events either through volunteers to help on the day, donations for raffle prizes or businesses willing to sponsor a stall. Contact tgfs.pta@gmail.com if you can help.
Some special tea towels to mark the anniversary have also been produced. Details on this link https://www.pta-events.com/tylersgreenfirstschool/index.cfm?event=event&eventId=116397
Of course the children themselves will be centre stage for this historic occasion and special events in the school are in the pipeline.
It’s also hoped the anniversary can be marked with a permanent memorial, probably a commemorative sun dial.
Gomm Valley developers vow to keep construction noise and vibration down to a minimum
DEVELOPER Taylor Wimpey has told Buckinghamshire Council it will use electric or battery powered equipment where possible when building to reduce noise disturbance during construction of the Gomm Valley site between Cock Lane and Hammersley Lane, Tylers Green.
It has received outline planning permission to build another 461 homes plus a new school, community centre, offices and workshops in the valley in addition to the detailed planning permission for 83 homes where work starts this month (see lead story above).
The site is bordered by Cock Lane, Hammersley Lane, Pimms Road and Pimms Close where hundreds of people live.
In a report on the potential noise impacts of the development it says haulage lorries will avoid steep gradients and unnecessary revving of engines and machines will be started sequentially rather than all at the same time
The company says leaflets will be distributed to homes likely to be affected by noisy construction activities informing them of the works in advance and detailing the nature and likely duration of the work.
Where possible, it says, potentially noisy equipment will be placed behind physical barriers.
The company says it has conducted an extensive noise and vibration assessment in the valley and concludes that when the development is complete in 2034 it will not create noticeable noise pollution. It says homes nearest the railway line at the bottom end of the valley will feel some vibration effect from passing trains “but (it) will be below the level at which complaints may arise.”.
It adds that the nearest distance existing homes are to building work is 38 metres – a distance, it says, that will not cause vibration problems from its piling machines.
Leaving the scene before a cold-blooded murder
MAYBE slow worms aren’t as slow as we think.
Just over 10 years ago conservationists studied Ashwells Field, off Ashwells, Cock Lane, Tylers Green and found a number of slow worms, common lizards and a grass snake.
Since then permission has been given for the field to be developed for housing so conservationists were tasked with finding the reptile population and removing it to safer zones before hibernation time so their homes wouldn’t be wrecked before we start building ours.
Now they’ve revealed the results: for 41 days and nights last autumn they put 200 reptile traps on the field which showed a meagre return of one adult common lizard, two adult slow worms and four baby common lizards, all of which were removed to nearby areas to spend the winter unperturbed.
Did our reptile friends somehow get wind that the bulldozers were on their way so decided to hop it beforehand? Spooky or what!
*Incidentally the developers last month revealed locations on the planned new estate where they will install bat boxes, swift boxes, starling boxes, barn owl boxes and general bird boxes, plus hedgehog domes, bug hotels and log piles. Some of the homes on the outer edges of the estate will have brick-built bat tubes integrated into their design.
Relief that pub’s cricket ground is no longer on a sticky wicket
THE NEWS that the cricket ground opposite the Hit or Miss pub in Penn Street is to get a new lease of life will come as a great relief to cricket lovers and historians alike.
As its very name suggests, the pub has had a long association with cricket and inside there is loads of memorabilia linked with the game locally.
It has been a pub for at least 228 years – the first lease was recorded in 1798 – but it wasn’t until 60 years later it became known as the Hit or Miss.
One of its earlier pub signs shows one player swinging a bat that looks more like a modern day hockey stick… that was the shape of cricket bats up until the early 1800s. However there’s no guarantee that the pub sign is an accurate reflection of what actually occurred.
Now a new innings in that long association opens with the creation of the Penn Street Hits or Misses. The old Victorian gentlemen playing in their top hats and breeches would be flabbergasted.
To Beaconsfield with love: 21,000 tons of fly-tipping…
THE CONTENTS of the country’s biggest illegal fly-tip are being moved to our doorstep in a multi-million pound operation.
Around 21,000 tons of domestic and commercial rubbish, covering an area bigger than a football pitch, were dumped behind a hedge running alongside the A34 near Kidlington last year. Environment Agency officers recorded temperates of 78c in the centre of the two metre thick pile of trash.
Now up to 30 lorries a day are shifting the debris 35 miles to an official landfill site at Holtspur near Beaconsfield. The operation will take up to six months.
Four men have so far been arrested in connection with the mega fly-tipping and their bank accounts frozen. If they are charged and found guilty they are likely to be presented with a bill for the full cost of the £5 million clean-up operation plus up to £3 million in unpaid landfill tax.
…and, possibly, one of Britain’s biggest polluting data centres
MEANWHILE , the Government said last month it would decide for itself if one of Britain’s biggest data centres can be built on Beaconsfield’s other landfill site off the A40 at Wapseys Wood.
The proposed £2 billion centre is so big it falls under what the Government terms a ‘nationally significant development’ which means it can by-pass the local planning system.
It means there will still be a planning inquiry in which objectors can put their case but the planning inspector will report his or her recommendations to the Government and the communities secretary Steve Reed will have the final say.
The developers say the data centre would provide five per cent of the UK’s computer power needs over the next five years.
The site lies near a cluster of data centres – nearby Slough is set to become the world’s second biggest data centre complex in the near future and there are other proposed centres in High Wycombe and Heathrow.
The problem is the centres use vast amounts of energy and water to power and cool their systems, putting big strains on local electricity and water supplies.
In addition some believe such a concentration of data centres – which are rapidly expanding to meet growing AI requirements – could affect the local climate and blow the Government’s net zero targets for carbon emissions out of the window.
The Wapseys Wood development, alongside Beaconsfield recycling centre on the A40, would come with its own gas fired power-station, partly using gas that emits naturally from the enormous landfill site already there. But critics say Wapseys Wood, if permitted, would release half a million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year into the atmosphere.
Regional news
Taking off – The largest intake of recruits for decades pictured on parade on their first day of basic training at RAF Halton last month. In recent years the numbers of new recruits had fallen to as low as 40 or 50 per intake, but last month 145 began their ten week basic recruit training course. It’s part of Government policy to increase RAF personnel by five per cent in the next few years.
New outpatients – Stoke Mandeville Hospital has been given approval to go ahead with a number of improvements to its facilities. It will get a new dedicated outpatients building plus extra facilities for rehabilitation, including a gym. There will also be a dedicated area for hand, wrist, elbow and shoulder injuries and specialist rooms for orthotics where devices such as braces, splints and insoles etc help people with muscular or bone structure problems.
Filming bonanza – Buckinghamshire reckons that location filming in the county boosted the local economy by £9 million in the 2025/26 financial year. The council earned a million pounds by making available its properties and parkland to film companies.
Filming expansion – Meanwhile, Amazon MGM Studios, which acquired Bray Studios near Maidenhead a couple of years ago, is conducting a public consultation before submitting a planning application to expand the studio with more sound stages for its Amazon Prime productions. The studio, famous for its Hammer House for Horror movies in the 1950s and 60s, was threatened with closure and conversion to a housing development just 10 years ago. Details on https://braystudiosredevelopment.co.uk
Final lap – The last licensed strip club in Buckinghamshire has closed its doors. Mirage in Aylesbury has surrendered its sex entertainment licence after police called for a review. The nearest licensed strip clubs are in Slough and Maidenhead.
Food stores – Marks and Spencer is proposing two new out-of-town M&S food halls in the area – one by the Pyebush roundabout off the A40 in Beaconsfield with parking for 280 vehicles, and another on the road to Little Chalfont near Amersham with parking for 190 vehicles. MP Joy Morrissey says she’ll oppose the plans for the store in her Beaconsfield constituency because the proposed site is in Green Belt.
Historic ending – Maidenhead United’s York Road football ground is recognised by FIFA as the oldest football ground in the world in continuous use by the same club. The team has played there for 155 years. But that will soon end. The club wants to expand and says it’s impossible to do so at the town centre site. It’s applied to build a new stadium in Braywick Park on the outskirts of the town and intends to sell its York Road site for development.
Breathtaking display – The wet winter followed by a dry and sunny April has given the azalea and rhododendron display in Windsor Great Park’s Valley Gardens and Punch Bowl an even greater depth of colour this spring.
Mega tunnel complete – HS2 engineers last month completed tunnelling work on what’s known as the Northolt Tunnel under west London. Work on the two main tunnels and 34 cross passages linking them began five years ago and has cost nearly £4 billion.
The tunnel runs between West Ruislip in Hillingdon and Old Oak Common in Ealing for 13.5km (8.4 miles) and aims to be ready for track laying by the end of the year. During excavation engineers discovered a rare deposit of black clay under Ruislip which was formed 56 million years ago when the area was marshland in a sub-tropical sea.
Royal celebration – The Royal Windsor Horse Show will celebrate the centenary of the birth of its favourite spectator – Queen Elizabeth II – on its opening day this month with specially arranged music and readings.
Homeless action – Buckinghamshire is revising its policies for dealing with homelessness and rough sleeping in the county. The charity Shelter estimates around 1,000 people in the county are homeless. The council says it has already had success in reducing temporary accommodation demands and in taking action before homelessness occurs.
Arts boost – A multi-million pound arts and academic centre opened in Oxford last month. The Schwarzman Centre is principally for the seven humanities faculties at the university but will also hold talks, presentations and performances the public can attend. Details on https://www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk/whats-on
Roxy crossing – A local businessman has launched a solar powered ferry service across the Thames between Marlow and Hurley for local people and Thames Path walkers while the Temple footbridge is closed for at least another two years for structural repairs. A Roxy Music fan, he’s called the boat the Bryan Ferry.
Another world – Edmund Niemann’s painting of High Wycombe High Street was completed 180 years ago in 1846. This month Denise Lindsay from Wycombe Museum, where this painting is on display, will be giving a free 90 minute walking tour to explain the hidden history of the street. Details on https://wycombemuseum.org.uk/events/history-on-our-high-street-19
By the way…
- Comedian Alex Horne is fronting Chesham’s bid to be the 2028 UK Town of Culture. For years Chesham was known as the town of boots, brushes and beer, but not any more. In a video worth viewing – https://www.facebook.com/reel/2401236153725840 – the Chesham resident and director of Chesham FC says: “It may look like an ordinary market town but underneath it’s pulsing with creativity, ideas, laughter, football chants, neighbours helping neighbours and Tony Hadley singing in the local pub.”
- Slough is also competing for the Town of Culture title. It’s 89 years since mischievous poet John Benjamin wrote his poem on the town, with the opening line…“Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough. It isn’t fit for humans now…” and his verse has bedevilled Slough’s image ever since. Slough’s entry into the competition is yet another attempt to upend that image. Good luck with that one.
- Meanwhile, High Wycombe has also thrown its hat into the ring for the 2028 culture crown. It too has an image problem. A couple of years ago the youngsters that contribute to the ILiveHere website named it the 11th worse place to live in Britain (Slough was fourth and Aylesbury fifth), but hey, what do they know? The council says the town has a “strong cultural identity, a rich history and a thriving creative scene.” So there.
- And finally, the fourth town in the area hoping to capture the 2028 UK Town of Culture title is Watlington, just up the M40 in Oxfordshire. It doesn’t have any well known comedians, poets or pop stars living there, but it does have some quaint buildings and gorgeous surrounding countryside. And, oh yes, it also has Boris Johnson.
You can contact this blog on peter@pennandtylersgreen.com It will be updated as necessary during May, but the next full update will be on 1 June.