Hope remains for the HIF1 Didcot relief road, a councillor has claimed, as the government reviews the contentious decision to refuse the multi-million pound scheme.

Cllr David Rouane, who sits on Didcot Town Council and South Oxfordshire District Council, is confident the scheme will be approved after the government inspection.

“I think it will be passed, but hopefully with some improvements,” he said.

READ MORE: Didcot councillor left 'bewildered' after HIF1 rejection

“It is an independent process, and we have to trust the process that it will come out with the right decision.”

The £269 million HIF1 proposals include building a dual carriageway on the A4130 from the A34 Milton Interchange towards Didcot, new bridges, and a Clifton Hampden bypass.

In a bombshell decision last month, Oxfordshire County Council's planning committee refused the scheme despite recommendations from planning officers that it should be approved.

But the decision was called in by Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, who will now make a final decision after a review is carried out by a government-appointed planning inspectorate.

He has been urged to approve the multi-million pound road scheme by Didcot Town Council. In a unanimous vote at an extraordinary meeting on Monday, August 7, the council passed a motion which called on the Mr Gove to grant permission for the scheme, with improvements.

READ MORE: HIF1 road scheme decision divides opinion in Oxfordshire

Cllr Rouane said there would be “incredible consequences for Didcot” if the scheme was refused.

The district council’s five year land supply statement, which demonstrates it has enough land available to provide five years’ worth of housing, relies on the HIF1 road at certain allocated sites, such as the 3,000 homes earmarked in Culham.

Without HIF1, Cllr Rouane said some of these sites would not be feasible for development. He claimed this could lead to ‘uncontrolled development’ on unallocated sites to meet the district council's housing targets.

“This is not the best plan, but if it doesn’t go ahead, it is going to have incredible consequences for Didcot,” he said.

Chris Jennings, leader of the town council, said: “I get there are some villages like Appleford that will be affected… but you have to take the rough with the smooth.

READ MORE: New railway station plan near Wantage would be 'win-win'

“It’s not perfect. There will always be someone who is adversely affected but we need this road.

“It would take vehicles away from the town centre so we can put the safety stuff in properly like cycle routes and we can’t do that until this road is built.”

The committee’s reasons for refusal were less about the principle of the scheme and more about its details.

They pointed to outdated traffic modelling data, which used figures from 2016/17, and questioned the detailed design of the proposed bridges.