Over £7.3 million will go towards transport improvements and school extensions in South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse thanks to funds the two district councils have raised from housing developers building in the districts.
South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse District Councils have allocated £7,326,066.92 to Oxfordshire County Council to help widen pavements, join up cycle routes, improve road safety and to expand six schools in their districts.
£6,564,745.43 for projects in South Oxfordshire and £761,321.49 for schemes in the Vale of White Horse has been given to the county council, as the authority that oversees transport infrastructure and education provision, to ensure the right facilities, such as road improvements and bigger schools are built to manage the increase in new residents. The money was collected from the Community Infrastructure Levy, known as CIL, which is paid by developers to help provide new and enhanced infrastructure to meet the demands of extra people moving into the area.
New traffic junctions, cycling and pedestrian routes are set to be completed in the districts including a new roundabout and road safety signs for the school around Mill Lane in Chinnor.
For children walking or cycling to school, a new pedestrian crossing will be created on Wantage Road in Didcot near to Didcot Girls’ School and on Northcourt Road in Abingdon near Dunmore School. For other areas, new crossings will be built near to Lidl in Wallingford, on Wellington Street in Thame and on Gravel Hill in Henley. Various schemes to widen pathways are also being funded in Benson, Towersey, Appleford and Kingston Bagpuize.
To increase pedestrian and road safety, in Faringdon town centre and in Sydenham, vehicles will be limited to a maximum of 20 mph. Funds to enable new traffic calming measures will be created between Goring Heath and Crays Pond, between Aston Rowant and Kingston Blount, and on the B4009 in Lewknor. Plans also include installing new lighting and a pavement on the triangle in Fyfield along the A420.
Councillor Liz Leffman, Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said: 'We welcome this opportunity to work with our district colleagues to put this money to good use by improving our schools and making our roads safer. I am sure the communities affected will look forward to seeing the benefits of these investments.
