Didcot Central Corridor

Welcome to the consultation page for the Didcot Central Corridor project, which aims to make the town a better place for residents and visitors by improving travel and public space along three important routes:

• the ‘Gateway Spine’ - this includes A4130 from the proposed Didcot Science Bridge (near Sir Frank William’s Avenue); B4493, Station Road; Hitchcock Way; Jubilee Way roundabout and Marsh Bridge roundabout to the location of the proposed Didcot Northern Perimeter Road 3 (NPR3), near Hadden Hill golf course.
• ‘Cultural Spine’ and Foxhall Road - this includes Broadway and Wantage Road (B4493) to Harwell Link Road, and
• the town centre, including Haydon Road, Lydalls Road and the Orchard Centre.

A map showing the locations of these important routes can be downloaded from the Maps and supporting documents section of this page.

Please read the supporting information below and the downloadable booklet. There is an online survey to share your views on the proposals and an interactive map that you can also contribute your comments to.

The online survey and interactive map are open from 12:00pm on Tuesday 6 June until 11:59pm on Tuesday 4 July 2023.

We are also holding two drop-in events on 10 June and 15 June where you will be able to see the proposals in person and speak to the project team. The information on this page will be available at the events, including the maps, downloadable detailed description booklet (which will be given as a handout) and the survey. Please see the Drop-in events section on this page for more details.

The Frequently asked questions (FAQs) section provides answers to common queries about the scheme.

Why is this project important?

The project is part of the Didcot Garden Town Delivery Plan (DGTDP) which will help to improve the lives of residents by focusing on helping support shops, encouraging healthy lifestyles and helping to tackle climate change.

Didcot is a growing town and to keep everyone moving while meeting our climate goals, we think improvements need to be made to some parts of the town.

We reviewed public feedback on the DGTDP, spoken to local representatives, and visited the area specifically to identify the challenges:

• There is no sense of arrival and signage to the town centre is poor
• Pavements are in poor condition and cycle routes are not clearly marked
• Parked cars dominate and can make it difficult for buses to pass each other
• Bus stops often lack shelter and seating
• Some routes can feel unsafe or are cluttered and unattractive
• There is a lack of places to sit, rest and socialise
• There are too few open spaces with planting or green verges.

We have some ideas that we think will make a real difference. These include creating a stronger identity in the town; making it easier for people to walk, wheel and cycle safely; adding more trees, planting and green areas, and improving air quality.

We would really like your help to make sure the proposals will:

• Make routes to and from Didcot attractive places in their own right
• Make it easier and more enjoyable to walk, wheel and cycle around the town
• Encourage people to use public transport
• Improve the safety of roads for all users, particularly at Jubilee Way roundabout and its approaches
• Support housing and employment growth.

We’ve developed some ideas for the three routes and town centre in five geographical areas:

1. A4130 and B4493 – Science Bridge to Didcot Station
2. Didcot Road, Wantage Road and Foxhall roundabout
3. Broadway
4. Town and station connections
5. Cow Lane, Jubilee Way roundabout and Hadden Hill

A map showing these five geographical locations can be downloaded from the Maps and supporting documents section of this page.

There are three ideas for each area which we think would all deliver our project aims in slightly different ways:

• Idea 1 – puts the best possible facilities for pedestrians, wheelers and cyclists first plus public transport improvements and better public space in the town centre. Some roads may need to be narrowed and some space taken from parking to achieve this.
• Idea 2 – still provides improvements for cyclists, pedestrians and public transport users but balanced with space for drivers and a more attractive town. Some changes to parking may be needed, especially where space is limited.
• Idea 3 – focuses on enhancing the look and feel of the area without major changes to the existing roads. Where space is limited, there are minor improvements for pedestrians and cyclists.

We’ll need to do more work before any ideas can be taken forward to the next stage, including traffic modelling and meeting stakeholders.

In addition to the detailed ideas for improving each area, we would like to add more planting, local artwork, seating, better crossings at side roads and improvements to junctions in the five areas. Improved signage would be included for pedestrians and cyclists, highlighting key destinations such as Didcot Station, shopping areas, and community facilities. Where appropriate, bus stops will be moved out of laybys and onto the road, to improve access for people with disabilities and reduce delays from buses waiting to pull out into traffic.

A downloadable detailed description booklet which gives more information about what we are proposing in each of the above geographical areas is available in the Maps and Supporting documents section of this page. You can also download individual maps of each of the ideas if you want to zoom into specific areas.

Providing feedback

Have we got the project aims right and which of our ideas do you think would be best? Have we missed anything?

Once you have reviewed the key documents on this page, we would like you to share your views on our ideas, by completing the online survey by Tuesday 4 July 2023. This is your opportunity to contribute about which schemes will work best and help us to determine what happens next.

You can also drop pins onto the interactive map of the scheme area if you think we have missed a key issue on any of the three important routes.

You can also provide feedback using a paper survey. Details are provided on how to access a paper copy in the paper copies section of this page. Once completed, your paper survey can be returned to the reception/service desk of the facility where you collected it by Tuesday 4 July 2023. Alternatively, you can post your survey to

Freepost OXFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Please write ‘Didcot Central Corridor’ on the top left corner of the envelope, so we can easily identify what is inside the envelope.

What happens next

After this consultation closes, we’ll review which ideas to look at in more detail and which not to progress at this time. This will include more testing and assessment to help understand how changes may impact traffic including public transport, and further conversations with stakeholders. This assessment, your comments from this consultation, the views of county and district officers and stakeholder feedback will all help to inform this process.