News on Didcot Garden Town

There’s another opportunity for the community to hear about the future of Didcot Garden Town and learn how the programme is shaping up at the Orchard Centre this winter.

Displays showing draft ideas and opportunities for the town will be on show at the Orchard Centre in a unit adjacent to the Next store on Saturday 26 November , Saturday 3 December and Saturday 10 December from 11am to 2pm. Visitors will be able to speak to a member of the project team to find out more about the Garden Town and give their views.

Over 470 comments and ideas for Didcot’s future have already been given by the community, in person and online at www.didcotgardentown.co.uk . The interactive site lets users pin their views and suggestions to a map of the town and also see what other people think.

The team delivering the project is encouraging the community to give as much feedback as possible before 18 December . So far people have made suggestions or commented on their most-loved green spaces; their desire for improved transport and easing of congestion; and their favourite heritage sites, among many other topics.

The aim of the Garden Town project is to help transform Didcot into a more dynamic, welcoming and sustainable place to be. Everything from new cycle networks through and around the town to better nightlife, shopping, cultural spaces and sporting facilities for all ages will be considered.

The project will ensure Didcot can continue to thrive and that the town is able to accommodate the thousands of homes already planned or being built.

After 18 December all comments from the website, events and conversations with community groups will be used to help prepare a draft masterplan for the Garden Town. This masterplan and vision for the area, supported by a Garden Town delivery plan setting out how this vision will become a reality, will be published in spring / summer 2017, at which point the community will have another opportunity to comment.

Councillor John Cotton, leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “People have known for a long time that Didcot is a major growth area, with lots of new housing already planned. The Garden Town project is about finding the best way to join this development together and identifying the right infrastructure to make Didcot the best it can be. The councils can’t change everything but we’ve got an opportunity to do something really exciting for the town and we hope the community seizes this moment to have its say.”

Councillor Matthew Barber, leader of Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “We’re only at the opening stages of an ambitious long-term programme that will help transform Didcot and the surrounding area and we want the community to contribute from the very beginning. Our innovative website has allowed people of all ages to give us their views and we encourage everyone to spread the word so that we can guide the project in the best direction.”

For more information please call 01235 422473 or email info@didcotgardentown.co.uk