TRAFFIC issues around a new supermarket have been branded 'artificial’ in the first week of opening as monitoring assessments are due to be carried out over the next six months.

Bucks County Councillor Dev Dhillon said three traffic monitoring assessments will be carried out around the new Bishop Centre development in Bath Road, Taplow, which includes a Tesco superstore, to gather a true reflection of the issues of parking at the shopping complex.

Speaking at a Taplow Parish Council meeting on Tuesday, Cllr Dhillon said the assessments would gather a 'true reading’ of the issues after the initial rush has died down.

He said: “People were coming from Langley, Cox Green and Bray just to have a look, so the first week is very artificial.

“Doing traffic assessments in the week or so around Christmas and the January sales will give a true reading of the traffic.” Parish council chairman George Sandy said he had previously warned the new centre would be 'a mess in the making’, and said the 449 spaces and three-hour parking limit was 'inadequate’, as well as expressing concern for residents living in the surrounding roads.

The assessments will be carried out in the middle of November, the Christmas period and also Easter, with each assessment costing Bucks County Council around £1,000 each time.