Residents voice fears over bypass plan

3:03pm Wednesday 7th May 2008

FAMILIES want more information about controversial plans for a southern bypass in Didcot that they say is blighting their homes.

Residents in south Didcot and East Hagbourne want to know if the proposal - first mooted by South Oxfordshire District Council around 18 months ago - is still on the agenda.

"I don't want to live in a town of 50,000 people and have a massive road in my back garden. I shall be moving."

Loyd Road resident Nick Swanzy

The council has not said anything about the plans since December 2006, although it hinted at the prospect of the road - which it said would not be blocked by plans for open green space south of the town - in its report on green spaces last month.

If it goes ahead, the road would serve thousands of new houses planned for Didcot over the next two decades. Some houses in New Road and Lake Road, East Hagbourne, would have to be bulldozed.

David Goodall, 74, of Loyd Road, said: "It's going to change a lot of people's lives. I think it should have a high priority, it's so important to a lot of people who live around here. We would like more information and to know what the timetable is going to be."

East Hagbourne parish councillor Roger Emery said people needed more information about the development of Didcot as a whole. He said: "We need to see an overall scheme. People are still worried about the road and the whole issue is in a state of suspended animation. They are just waiting for something definite."

A 64-year-old resident of Loyd Road, who didn't want to be named, said: "Eighteen months is a long time if people are going to think about doing something to their homes, because if there is a perimeter road it lowers the value of the land.

"And it's not just the people who live on this road, it's the people who come to use this area and Mowbray Fields. It gives access to the countryside to a lot of people and school children."

Nick Swanzy, 59, of Loyd Road, said: "We are just going to encase Didcot with more concrete. I don't want to live in a town of 50,000 people and have a massive road in my back garden. I shall be moving."

Barry Llewellyn, 24, of Loyd Road, was among those concerned about the value of their properties. He said: "The prices of the houses down this road are good and if they built a road it would definitely affect the prices."

South Oxfordshire District Council said it would not consider the road until the local development framework plans are finalised in more than a year's time. This is a masterplan for the town's long-term development over the next few decades.

Anna Robinson, strategic director at South Oxfordshire District Council, said: "There are no plans for it at all in the short and medium term. It's really a long-term plan. We won't have anything to come back to the public on for around 18 months. It's neither ruled in nor ruled out. It would be a huge investment and the money would have to come from somewhere."

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