Sir – The icecaps are melting, the earth is experiencing more extreme weather conditions of flooding, hurricanes and droughts and there is increasing loss of biodiversity with a continuing reduction of species across the globe.

However, against this background Oxfordshire county councillors have supported an investment of over £15m for a new road scheme that not only crosses an environmentally sensitive and much loved area of water meadows in the heart of Witney, but runs parallel and only yards away from the existing bypass.

Along with over 1,600 other Witney residents who have raised objections to this proposal, I ask that each one of the county councillors think long and hard about the impact of this decision, seek further advice from experts in the field of environmental sustainability and meet again to reconsider the alternative options.

The evidence that we need to make major reductions in carbon emissions to alleviate the effect of global warming is now too strong to ignore. There are better approaches for a transport strategy that build on sustainable and healthier options.

Continuing to base a transport policy on a Local Plan that was conceived in 1987 and based on car use is now no longer tenable.

There are plans to redevelop Oxford rail station to accommodate rail links to other parts of the county and beyond. Investment needs to be made in re-opening the rail track between Oxford, Witney and Carterton using modern developments of light rail to alleviate the congestion on the A40, reduce car use overall and encourage cycle and rail travel. The reasons for not pursuing this option when considered a few years ago were that this would be too costly. The cost of not reviewing this option now is too high — if we do not make major commitments to serious planning for reduction of carbon emissions we are all lost.

Dr Janet Maxwell, Witney