HIF1 road scheme decision divides opinion in Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire County Council’s planning committee voted against the £269 million HIF1 Didcot relief road on Tuesday (July 18), despite recommendations from planning officers that it should be approved.

The proposals included building a dual carriageway on the A4130 from the A34 Milton Interchange towards Didcot, new bridges and a Clifton Hampden bypass.

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Artists impression of the bridge crossing over the Thames near Culham. (Image: Oxfordshire County Council)If the HIF-1 road scheme had been approved, it would have been the largest new road scheme in Oxfordshire.

The decision was described as a “relief” by South Oxfordshire District councillor Sam Casey-Rehaye who has campaigned against the project since its inception.

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Ms Casey-Rehaye said: “I’m deeply grateful to the committee for their diligence and courage in refusing this application.

“This was always a flawed scheme, based on outdated evidence, deeply damaging to the landscape and setting of the River Thames.

“It would have been harmful to the health and well-being of local communities and devastating in climate terms.”

Artist's impression of A4130 with improved footways and cycleways (Image: Oxfordshire County Council)

The nine member committee voted seven votes to two to reject the scheme.

However, county councillor and cabinet member for travel and development strategy Duncan Enright described the decision as “naturally disappointing”.

Mr Enright said: “We’ll now take stock of the planning committee’s comments and reasons.

“We will issue an official statement in due course.

“The project would have provided more sustainable transport options in and around Didcot, including 19.2km of new cycle infrastructure.”

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Supporters of the project also argued the scheme would have reduced congestion in villages and improved air quality and noise levels.

Ian Snowdon, Didcot West county councillor and the Conservatives' shadow cabinet member for transport, said: "Didcot town council is made up entirely of Liberal and Labour councillors who promised in May to be the voice of residents.

"Yet not one bothered to speak at the meeting to support the £300 million of infrastructure improvements for Didcot which is now lost."

Mr Snowdon said the decision meant "local plans had been thrown into chaos" and he accused the Liberal and Green Party led councils of approving thousands of new homes without "putting infrastcuture alongside it".

The committee believed the council’s own Local Transport and Connectivity Plan had not been properly applied.

There were also questions over the detailed design of the bridges included in the plans, including the major bridge over the river Thames near Culham.

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Green county councillor Ian Middleton said a “solution” was needed but the proposals put forward were far from “convincing”.

He said: “There are so many holes in the information that has been provided.

“We know that there needs to be a transport solution for the developments in South Oxfordshire, but I don’t think this is it."

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Ed specialises in writing political stories for the Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times. 

He joined in the team in February 2023, after completing a History undergraduate degree at the University of York and studying for his NCTJ diploma in London.

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