Housing secretary Angela Rayner has granted planning permission for a £332m infrastructure project in Oxfordshire following a planning inspector’s recommendation.
The HIF1 Didcot and surrounding areas project was subject to a 21-day conjoined public inquiry earlier this year.
Oxfordshire County Council said the scheme includes four elements to support Didcot as a vibrant garden town. It mainly involves the construction of new roads, with improvements to existing roads and new walking and cycle routes.
The highway authority added that the project is fully funded after discussions with government in early 2022, and again in early 2024, resulted in additional grants from Homes England.
Judy Roberts, cabinet member for travel and development strategy, said: ‘This work is a big step towards tackling congestion in Didcot and the surrounding villages. It will transform travel in the Didcot area for current and future residents as well as commuters, reduce congestion in the surrounding villages, and improve air quality and noise levels.
‘This project is key in providing real sustainable travel options for people in and around Didcot. It will enable more reliable journey times for buses and other vehicles and improve pedestrian and cycling connectivity.’
The council said that work continues to finalise detailed designs and confirm and appoint contractors. The decision on the statutory orders needed to secure all of the land for the scheme is awaited, but private negotiations with landowners ‘continue to progress’.
Construction is anticipated to start on site in early 2026 and last approximately two years.
The four elements of the scheme:
- Widening of the A4130: The creation of a dual carriageway east of Milton Interchange with 1.6km of segregated walking and cycling facilities, linking to the future development at Valley Park and Didcot Science Bridge.
- Didcot Science Bridge: A new single-carriageway road bridge over the A4130, Great Western Main Line, and Milton Road, connecting to a new link road through the former Didcot A Power Station.
- Didcot to Culham river crossing: A new single carriageway link road between the A4130 at Didcot and the A415 at Culham, with segregated walking and cycling facilities. It will include a new bridge over the Appleford Railway sidings and a new bridge over the River Thames.
- Clifton Hampden bypass: A new single-carriageway link road between the A415 at Culham and the B4015 to the north of Clifton Hampden, with shared-use walking and cycling facilities.
