Action must be taken now to prevent extra traffic chaos in Bath Road - that is the view of Taplow Parish Council's head of planning Euan Felton.

More than 400 new homes could spring up along the Taplow stretch of the already congested A4 if planned developments at SGT Garages, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Taplow Paper Mill and Skindles Hotel get the green light.

Add that to the prospect of a new Tesco-led retail centre at The Bishop Centre, the expansion of Sainsbury's, a notoriously busy car boot sale and the Olympics coming to nearby Dorney Lake this summer, and villagers are facing growing concerns over lengthy delays in and out of the area.

Cllr Felton said: "Back in 2000 an A4 strategy report from Bucks County Council defined the road as running at over its capacity.

"As each development comes it adds a certain amount of traffic and there must be a tipping point when it becomes unacceptable. There's been a bit of an ostrich attitude towards the A4 and one day it might come to a halt and people might start focusing on it."

A South Bucks District Council spokeswoman said it would 'pay due and careful regard' to views of the highway authority, Bucks County Council, on pending planning applications.

She added: "In considering proposed development the highway authority would need to consider issues such as safety, capacity and congestion and would look at the cumulative impact of all planned development in the vicinity of the Bath Road."

See Thursday's Burnham Advertiser for a feature on Bath Road traffic issues.