A service yard in High Wycombe town centre will be made safer in a bid to stop street drinkers, drug dealers and fly-tippers from abusing the area.

The Bull Lane service yard, near Travelodge, is poorly lit at night and suffers from antisocial behaviour.

In a bid to discourage people from loitering in the area, gates at both end of the service yard will be introduced, with the High Wycombe town committee agreeing to give £23,000 towards funding the project.

Travelodge has already agreed to fund part of the project with £9,000 and nearby shops have also expressed interest in putting forward cash.

Installing gates will permit access to businesses and residents of the yard, Travelodge customers, deliveries and waste contractors, a council report says.

It continues: “It will prevent access to fly-tippers, drug dealers, drug users and street drinkers and basically anyone else who should not be in the area.

“The gates are the best solution as they control access and provide security. CCTV and fencing off the bins was considered but it does not prevent access or provide the required security.”

Councillors also agreed to fund a raft of other improvement projects in the town at a meeting on Tuesday night – including £35,000 for an east Wycombe panoramic walkway, which will connect public footpaths from Hammersley Lane to the railway station through improved signposting and information boards.

Improvements to shop forecourts in east Wycombe will also be carried out, costing £150,000.

Totteridge Drive shopping parade will be given a “facelift” in conjunction with Bucks County Council, while four extra parking spaces will be added at the Wingate Avenue/The Quadrangle shops.

In Arnison Avenue, from the tyre shop to the WISE shop, plans have been drawn up to improve parking, signage and the general environment to “revive” the neighbourhood.

Six new interpretation boards at key sites along the River Wye to increase awareness of the important chalk stream and two boards at Boundary Park and Wooburn Park will also be renovation – costing £22,000.

£100,000 has also been allocated to look at “creative solutions to parking pressures” in the town and will focus on areas with have eroded verges, busy areas near schools, blocked pavements and poor visibility at junctions.

Meanwhile, £475,000 has also been allocated to the controversial Queensway cemetery project amid a shortfall in funding.

A total of £1.204 million was allocated for building the new cemetery in Hazlemere – but it is now predicted to cost £1.679 million.