Sir – Oxfordshire County Council is planning its £62m Access to Oxford project to reduce congestion on Oxford’s northern approaches. Chiltern Railways’ planned Oxford – Marylebone rail service would include a new station at Water Eaton, and the county is planning how to allow for this in Access to Oxford by maximising the station’s bus, pedestrian and cycle access and thus minimising extra road traffic.
The city council’s planned 60-acre business park at Wolvercote and Pear Tree would increase congestion exactly where Access to Oxford aims to reduce it.
The A4095 Action Group is right: extra congestion would displace traffic to less suitable alternative roads (Letters, February 19). This would harm not only the A4095, but also the minor road through Cassington and Yarnton. Chiltern’s new trains will use the Bicester-Oxford railway. This line runs under the Wolvercote Roundabout in a tunnel. Councillor Armitage’s proposed A40 road tunnel (Report, February 12) would have to pass under the rail tunnel and is almost impossible.
Moving police and fire services to the Northern Gateway would not release “valuable sites in St Aldate’s and Rewley Road”. Oxford still needs central police and fire stations. Creating congestion and then siting emergency services in the middle of it would be irresponsible.
CPRE Oxfordshire points out that the city council has enlarged the proposed business park after completing its public consultation (Letters, February 19). Goose Green common should be removed from the Northern Gateway, and the rest of it should planted as new broadleaf woodland to absorb road noise and pollution.
Oxford needs new employment, but it must be on suitable sites.
Three Oxford colleges own the land. Goodman International, the Australian-based owner of Oxford Business Park, holds an option to buy at least some of it. Profit for them would be a loss for most of us.
Hugh Jaeger, Oxford
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