TRAIN MAINTENANCE DEPOT (TMD) - 4 November 2026

The proposed EWR train maintenance depot was discussed today (4/11/2026) at the Buckinghamshire Council Transport, Environment, Communities & Climate Change Select Committee meeting. On Friday of last week, less than three hours after Buckinghamshire Council had closed the door for the submission of questions, we learned that EWR had chosen Layout Option 3 (the ‘bow tie’ option) as their preferred orientation for the maintenance depot and stabling sidings. In brief, the stabling sidings would be at the Mursley end with the main maintenance facilities at the Whaddon Road (NL) end.

You can watch the discussion online. You will hear Cllr Mike Chapman, our parish council chair, raise some of the many concerns expressed in this area, and see the support that was provided by Buckinghamshire Council. Cabinet Member for Transport Cllr Thomas Broom and and Deputy Cabinet Member for Transport (HS2 and EWR) Cllr Peter Martin were particularly vocal in their criticism about EWR’s approach to consultation with Buckinghamshire Council, local parish councils, landowners and residents. Ward councillor Caroline Cornell is a member of the select committee, and she too asked EWR some probing questions.

More on this to follow, but EWR have committed to providing a public consultation session in the village, and arrangements for this are being made. Details to follow but for now, if you would like to attend then please block out 6-9pm on Monday 30 November. In your diary.

Read more: EWR TMD November 2026

TRAIN MAINTENANCE DEPOT (TMD) - 30 October 2026

EWR have advised this afternoon (30/10.2026) that they have chosen layout 3 as their preferred option for the proposed train maintenance depot. This option they are referring to as the "Bowtie layout", and it has the main maintenance facilities at the Newton Longville end of the site and the stabling sidings at the Mursley end.

When this option first emerged in the summer it was stated that it would require demolition and rebuilding of the three road bridges (Swans' Way and Salden lane in Mursley, and bridge OXD09 over our Whaddon Road) and the temporary closure for widening of the underpass for footpath NLO19 which links the village to Weasel Lane and the Salden Place development. A significant amount of spoil will also need to be dug out of the hill and transported elsewhere in order to bring the depot site to (or near) track level. There will also be a permanent diversion at the western end of Weasel Lane.

There have been a number of serious concerns about all three of the layout options, including drainage and the risk of flooding to the east of the proposed depot.

EWR are providing Buckinghamshire Council with an update at the Transport, Environment, Communities & Climate Change Select Committee meeting in Aylesbury on Wednesday 4 November, starting at 10am. We will be represented at that meeting.

(NB: This information was received two days after the November/December edition of the Pump went to print, so at the time that the EWR article was written we were unaware of which of the three options that they had decided to take forward).

Read more: EWR TMD October 2026

We've been contacted today (21/10/2026) by Pegasus acting on behalf of Willis Dawson. They have launched a pre-application consultation for a development on the Newton Leys side of Stoke Road, within the Newton Longville parish boundary. If this were to go ahead then the nearest new housing would only be around 950 metres from the village.

We have been told that village residents should be receiving their leaflet by First Class post. This leaflet invites comments and you are very welcome to send them your views, but you may wish to hold back until they have submitted their actual planning application when more details will be available (your views then will be going directly to Buckinghamshire Council who will be the decision makers on whether this goes ahead, rather than the applicant who can ignore any objections to any development on that site).

We are likely to hold a public meeting (potentially inviting the applicant), most probably when the actual application is submitted. If you want to give us your views in the meantime then please feel to comment here on Facebook below, send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and/or attend our next Parish Council Drop-In at the Free Church (Bletchley Road) between 5-7pm on Thursday 5 November.

Read more: Proposed development off Stoke Road (near Newton Leys)

Buckinghamshire Local Plan: Callum Anderson MP - My statement

Before I begin, I would like to thank local residents for bearing with me. Hopefully you will understand that I wanted my response to this to be measured, considered, and crafted through consultation with local people.

First of all, I would like to reiterate that I support housebuilding - including the housing targets set for Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes City Councils - and have always been clear about that. Throughout my time as a parliamentary candidate and now as a Member of Parliament, I have spoken to countless young people whose aspirations of owning a home or finding an affordable place to rent in the communities where they grew up feel increasingly out of reach. I am not prepared to turn my back on that challenge simply because it may be politically difficult.

At the same time, supporting housebuilding does not mean abandoning our countryside and our rural communities. The two are not mutually exclusive. I live in a Buckinghamshire village myself and value the rural character of our communities. We can build the homes we need while protecting what makes Buckinghamshire such a special place to live.

I find it deeply regrettable that the Conservatives at Buckinghamshire Council have taken so long to bring forward a Local Plan at all. The Council had six years from its creation to prepare one. Instead, the Conservative administration allowed the situation to drift to the point where the Minister for Housing and Planning felt compelled to intervene and impose a deadline for the production of a Local Plan. That intervention should never have been necessary.

Over the past few months, I have heard loud and clear that this consultation has caused genuine distress across north Buckinghamshire, and I share many of the concerns that have been raised.

Read more: Buckinghamshire Local Plan - Statement by Callum Anderson MP

Outline planning application for 32 houses off Pond Close

At the end of June residents in the south west corner of the village were made aware of a pre-planning consultation for 35 houses on the field at the end of Pond Close, adjacent to the Gladman site on the corner of Westbrook End/Drayton Road. This proposal has now moved on to the next stage which is the submission of the outline planning application to Buckinghamshire Council by Edward Ware Homes Ltd & S Crocker (with Black Box Planning also listed):

"PL/26/06781/OA | Outline planning application with all matters reserved except access for the erection of up to 32 dwellings, including public open space, landscaping, sustainable drainage infrastructure, pedestrian links and associated access and infrastructure works | Land South Of Pond Close..." (Note that the number of houses proposed has been reduced to 32).

This application will be on the agenda for the next monthly Parish Council meeting which is on Monday 21 September at 7pm. We also have a parish council drop-in from 5-7pm on Thursday 3 September. Please do consider attending these events (which will be at the Free Church on Bletchley Road) if you want to share your views on the application and/or want any advice on how you can respond.

A similar message has gone out on Facebook and will now be going out as a Village Briefing email, and we will be putting letters through the doors of houses near to the site to ensure that residents are aware.

The documents submitted to Buckinghamshire Council can be viewed on their Planning Portal using the reference number PL/26/06781/OA