Didcot and surrounding area infrastructure improvements
About the improvements
The scheme includes four elements to support Didcot as a vibrant garden town. The elements include improvements to existing roads and the construction of new roads, new walking and cycle routes, and will help to facilitate new and enhanced bus services.
These elements will:
- improve pedestrian and cycle connectivity for work and leisure trips with 19km of walking and cycling paths
- provide more sustainable travel options in and around Didcot, including on public transport
- reduce congestion and improve air quality in surrounding villages and parishes
- enable more jobs in the local area in new and existing employment sites
- support expected housing growth.in the local area
Compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) and side road orders (SROs)
The orders relating to Didcot and surrounding area infrastructure improvements are available to view.
Scheme benefits
Your questions answered
Take a look at a flyover of the scheme
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What is happening when?
Public consultation was undertaken for each of the elements, helping to inform the designs. These were held in November 2018 and March 2020, and several changes were made to the scheme following feedback from the public. The preferred scheme was endorsed by Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet in July 2020. Land negotiations are ongoing.
Oxfordshire County Council submitted a planning application to the Local Planning Authority in November 2021.
Following the resolution of the County Council’s planning and regulation committee in July 2023, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) called in the application. This meant a government-appointed planning inspector would consider the scheme at an inquiry, and the Secretary of State will make the decision about whether to approve the planning application.
A conjoined planning and Orders (compulsory purchase order, side roads order and bridge scheme) Public Inquiries took place during February and May 2024.
The Inquiries sat for 21 days across a 12-week period. The Planning Inquiry was formally closed on 9 May. The Orders Inquiries formally closes on 20 May.
After 20 May, the Inspector will write to all Rule 6 parties and remaining objectors to say that she has formally closed the Orders Inquiries and will begin the process of drafting her reports to the relevant Secretaries of State.
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will determine the planning element; the Secretary of State for Transport will determine the CPO element.
Recordings of the sessions and core documents relating to the Inquiries can be found on the official Inquiries portal.
How it is being funded
In March 2019, Homes England awarded £218m for the scheme, with a further £16m secured against Section 106 developer contributions. In early 2022, additional funding for the scheme was secured from Homes England (£21.8m), the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (£10m capital investment generated from Enterprise Zones business rates retention) and £30m underwritten from the council capital budget.
Contact us
If you have any queries about the planning application please contact the Local Planning Authority, planning@oxfordshire.gov.uk
If your query does not relate to the planning application please contact the delivery team.
