Watlington Relief Road
A scheme to provide an alternative route and direct access to the B4009 either side of Watlington, without the need to travel through the historic and narrow town centre.
About the improvements
The Watlington Relief Road will run from the western side of Watlington on the B4009, looping northwards and connecting back to the B4009 on the eastern side of the town.
The relief road aims to connect a series of existing and proposed developments around the northern and western sides of Watlington, with some sections being delivered by developers and some directly by Oxfordshire County Council.
Why we are investing here?
A corridor for the relief road was previously identified and adopted in the Watlington Neighbourhood Development Plan in 2018. It was also designated as a ‘safeguarded route’ in the South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2035, in 2020.
Its aim is to alleviate congestion, noise and air pollution in the town centre and enable future housing developments, by offering more sustainable modes of transport including cycling and walking.
What you can expect
The relief road will feature:
- two roundabouts
- one T-junction
- a number of shared-use zebra crossings, and
- walking and cycling infrastructure to support active travel.
The council proposes to construct three sections between the housing developments:
- Revised alignment for the T-junction at Britwell Road / Harmans Way, providing priority for access on to the relief road.
- The section of the relief road between the Bloor Homes and Redrow developments including a new structure over Chalgrove Brook and a new roundabout at the junction with B480 Cuxham Road.
- The eastern end of the relief road between the Redrow development, at Pyrton Lane, and the B4009 Shirburn Road including provision of the loop at Icknield Community College and a new roundabout at the junction with the B4009.
Bloor Homes and Redrow will be responsible for the sections of road next to their respective developments.
The image shows the proposed alignment of the Watlington Relief Road through the approved housing developments.
General arrangement plan drawings are available to download on the right side of the page.
Minimising the impact
We will coordinate the work to minimise the impact on the network as far as is reasonably practicable. Further details of this will be available prior to the start of construction.
Funding for the scheme
The scheme is being funded through a combination of Housing Growth Deal funding, Section 106 contributions from developers and county council funds.
In February 2025 , as part of the council's budget setting and business planning process, capital funding was allocated to schemes that improve our market towns. This includes the Watlington Relief Road scheme.
Next steps
A planning application (ref R3.0010/24) was submitted in December 2023.
Additional information to supplement the original planning application (referred to as a Regulation 25 response) was submitted to the local planning authority at the end of October 2024. Some further information was uploaded to the planning portal (via a second Regulation 25 response) in July 2025 and is now available on the planning portal. A further consultation period regarding the second Regulation 25 response is now open until mid-August 2025.
We anticipate a planning decision in late Summer 2025.
Contact us
If you would like to know more, you can contact us via email WRRproject@oxfordshire.gov.uk