A34 scheme funds may be lost as objection is lodged

Oxfordshire County Council wants to spend £10m on building new north-facing slip roads at the Chilton Interchange.

Work was due to start by the end of the year and the Government has given £5m, which needs to be spent by March, towards it.

But Chilton Parish Council has objected to the project, meaning that a public inquiry is likely to be held early next year – raising questions about whether the money can be spent in time.

In a letter to the county council, Chilton Parish Council said: “The northbound slips at Chilton are an unnecessary waste of £10m at a time of Government cuts.

“There is a grossly under-used four-way interchange in Chilton parish. That can perfectly easily be used for the traffic from the north to Harwell Campus.

“Looking at the map of road schemes across Science Vale, there is no strategic plan, just a number of isolated sticking plasters.

“The improved interchange at Milton and the northbound slips at Chilton are aimed entirely at satisfying the companies on Milton Park and Harwell Campus.”

Because Chilton Parish Council is a statutory consultee for the scheme, if it is not prepared to withdraw its objection then a public inquiry must be held.

The Highways Agency has written to the parish council confirming that it will start the process of launching a public inquiry.

And last night parish council chairman Chris Broad said the council had had some “useful negotiations” with the county council, but still had concerns about safety and access to and from the village for cars and buses. He said the county council had indicated further negotiation was possible.

County council spokesman Paul Smith said: “Current advice from the planning inspectorate is that the earliest an inspector could be assigned to an inquiry is early 2015. Depending on the complexity of the issues raised, a report could be expected within five weeks after the inquiry.

“The Secretary of State would then need time to consider the report and issue a written decision, putting the council’s ability to spend the Department for Transport funding by March 2015 at risk and meaning it may have to consider alternative funding.”

The A34 junction currently only has south-facing slip roads and the county council said the new slip roads would reduce the use of local roads and alleviate pressure on the Milton Interchange.

Angus Horner, director of the Harwell Campus partnership, said: “If there is an inquiry the inspector will hear what the arguments are and we will or will not contribute to it if and when it is convened.”

MORE DELAYS FOR DRIVERS

• BIN collections in Kennington disrupted commuters for the second week running and delayed buses by up to 45 minutes yesterday morning.

Last Thursday was the first time bin collections and the school run happened at the same time since the works at the roundabout began. 

Traffic was tailed back on the A34 and the Oxford Bus Company said its Abingdon services were delayed.

A spokeswoman for South Oxfordshire District Council said: “We have spoken to our contractors to see if there is any way that the collections can be altered to alleviate the existing congestion.”

• The Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials began yesterday.

Oxfordshire County Council has said it expects some congestion in the area of Woodstock and on the A44 during the event, which ends on Sunday.

Spokesman Dominc Llewellyn-Jones said: “Due to large numbers attending we expect some localised congestion in Woodstock on the A44 and the adjoining A roads.

“The Pear Tree Interchange is likely to be more congested than normal. Blenheim Palace has a traffic plan in place to get traffic into the grounds quickly and efficiently.”

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