Residents in West Hyde said they were 'taking their lives into their own hands' when using the A412

People living in Tilehouse Lane and Old Uxbridge Road believe traffic along the main road from Slough to Watford will "get worse" once construction begins on a new access road to Denham Park Farm. 

Gravel and sand will be excavated from the quarry and then taken on to a site in Harefield to be processed. 

But residents are concerned about the potential effect of more traffic on the A412 once a new junction is created next to the current Tilehouse Lane turning.

David Crofts, of Old Uxbridge Road said: "It is dangerous coming out of here and in my opinion it is going to get worse when they start the construction of the new road which will replace Tilehouse Lane.

"They said they are going to widen the road, but you are going to have lorries loaded with gravel and sand coming out on to the A412.

"There is going to be a major change to the road lay-out."  

The planning inspectorate is also considering an application to build a quarry in Pynesfield, which is off Tilehouse Lane.

Official figures compiled by Hertfordshire County Council show that between Maple Lodge Close and Old Uxbridge Road, one person has died after a collision and six others have been injured on the 2.4km stretch of road. 

Mike Fosberry, of Tilehouse Lane said: "If you are turning left on to the A412, from Tilehouse Lane, you do feel that you are taking your life into your own hands.  

"When you turn left, you are going with the traffic, but it can be difficult to see the traffic coming down the road. You quite often, go to pull out and you find someone is coming down on the other side trying to over-take them and then you have to slam the breaks on.

"This has happened to me on more than one occasion. It is dangerous."

Last week, at a planning inspectorate hearing, Mr Fosberry highlighted comments made by Councillor Ann Shaw, leader of Three Rivers District Council, who described the "road as one of the most dangerous in Hertfordshire."

However, Tom Shipp, spokesman for Hertfordshire County Council said the council’s collision analysis focuses on "sites" rather than "routes" and this stretch of road had not been ear-marked for safety engineering work. 

Mr Shipp added: "Based on our most recent annual review of collisions on the road network, which was undertaken earlier this year, we have not identified any sites along the section of the A412 to which you refer where there are concentrations of collisions that we have prioritised for investigation for road safety engineering work.

"We use the results of our analysis to identify and prioritise the sites we will investigate and, where appropriate, carry out engineering work, so that whatever work we do maximises the reduction of personal injury collisions on the county’s road network."