The government has announced significant investment in transport infrastructure for southern Oxfordshire in the Spring Statement. South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse District Council have welcomed the money that will make a significant difference to the two districts.
The councils were part of a £218million bid for Housing Infrastructure Funding from the government, relating to four major transport schemes for the southern Oxfordshire area. They are:
- a Didcot Science Bridge on the A4130 – going over the railway line and Didcot A Power Station site and joining the A4130 Northern Perimeter Road
- improvements to the A4130 from the Milton Interchange by making it a dual carriageway
- a new river crossing at Culham
- a Clifton Hampden bypass.
The transport schemes are an important part of the South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse Local Plans, both of which aim to bring new homes, jobs, schools, health and community centres to support the predicted growth in the area. The HIF money will help the councils to deliver new homes in Didcot, Culham, Harwell and Berinsfield.
Cllr Jane Murphy, Leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, said, “This is a significant moment for everybody living and working in Didcot and surrounding villages. I’m delighted that we’ve been a part of this successful bid to bring much-needed infrastructure to our district – this award demonstrates that by working closely with government, delivering on growth, and building positive working relationships with other councils, we can deliver much needed improvements for our residents.”
Cllr Roger Cox, Leader of Vale of White Horse District council said, “This is great news for the local economy – by working together with our colleagues in the councils across Oxfordshire, we have helped to secure the infrastructure investment we needed to ensure that the Science Vale area continues to thrive, offering lots of high quality jobs and career opportunities for our residents.”
All the projects will need to go through the appropriate planning permissions and the district councils will be asking residents what they think about the proposals throughout the process.
