Didcot - a real blast

And then there were three. During the early hours of July 27 last year the view of the horizon in Didcot changed forever.

Following months of detailed planning and preparation three of the cooling towers at Didcot A power station were blown to smithereens.

Part of 50 years’ worth of history was blown to the ground in just 16 seconds and now only three cooling towers remain.

They are due to be demolished in the same way early in 2016.

Thousands of people watched the towers come down at about 5am, including more than 1,000 who gathered on top of Wittenham Clumps beauty spot in Little Wittenham.

RWE npower had advised people that the towers would be demolished between 3am and 5am, but it refused to bow to residents’ demands to name a specific time for the demolition and switch it to 6am. Demolition firm Coleman and Company used 7,000 separate demolition charges and 180kg of explosives in the towers.

While three of the cooling towers have come down, lots of new buildings in Didcot have been going up as Didcot is a growth town.

The population of about 30,000 is due to grow considerably by 2026, according to South Oxfordshire
District Council’s core strategy, which has planned for about 10,000 new homes in the area by 2026, with the vast majority of them in Didcot.

There are 3,300 homes due to be built at Great Western Park in Didcot, between the A4130 and the
Wantage Road.

There are also 2,000 new homes due to be built at north east Didcot on land owned by Reading University, opposite the Ladygrove estate.

And the Valley Park development could bring 4,450 homes to the Harwell parish, although some residents are not in favour of such a large development.

With all these new homes coming to the town infrastructure is desperately needed to support it and major improvements have already been completed.

Last year the £8m revamp of the forecourt at Didcot Parkway was finally completed.

The transport hub looks very modern, and has been reorganised to make it safer for cars, buses, cyclists, taxis and pedestrians.

Now the station has been revamped, South Oxfordshire District Council is keen to redevelop the area across the road from the station known as Didcot Gateway.

Key to the proposals, which are being supported by the Government’s Homes and Communities Agency, is a new hotel. Didcot does not have its own hotel – the nearest is the Premier Inn at the Milton Interchange but civic leaders say it is now time for a town the size of Didcot to have its own hotel.

It’s quite possible that plans for a different hotel, at Milton Gate, next to the Milton Interchange could go ahead first.

A series of businesses are setting up at Milton Gate, a few miles from Didcot town centre, as it has the advantage of being right next to the A34.

On the retail front, there is good news for shoppers.

While the Broadway has its own attractions, the Orchard Centre could soon go from strength to strength.

A planning application for phase two of the shopping centre is about to be submitted, which will bring
new shops, including an M&S food store. The proposed extension is not as large as originally planned but shoppers will be looking forward to having more choice.

And discount store Aldi, off the Jubilee Way roundabout, is also opening.

For sport and leisure, there is Willowbrook Leisure Centre on the Ladygrove estate, next to Didcot
Town FC, but proposals for a new pool and leisure centre at north east Didcot appear to be on hold. That could mean a longer lease of life for the popular Didcot Wave pool.

Another visitor attraction is Didcot Railway Centre, next to Didcot Parkway. The centre has an impressive collection of Great Western Railway steam engines and brings in visitors from across the country.

The centre is also a popular film set, and volunteers are sometimes sworn to secrecy about who is filming there.

There is a lot of support for the military in Didcot as 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment is based at Vauxhall Barracks.

At the barracks there are memorial plaques remembering soldiers from the regiment who have died trying to defuse bombs and streets on Great Western Park have been named after them.

Pupils at Didcot Girls’ School and St Birinus, the boys’ school, continue to get excellent results and both attract pupils from outside the town.

One of Didcot’s most popular characters is Clifford Oakes, who leads the Thong Rangers charity group. The group’s fundraising stunts around the town are a regular occurrence and many good causes have benefited over the years.