New Road East Hagbourne

This week Didcot Town Council’s Planning Committee has again voted unanimously to oppose Grainger’s application.

Didcot Town Council had previously objected to the development as it closed the gap separating Didcot and the village of East Hagbourne. Now, after reviewing the latest set of plans they have confirmed their existing objection and added a further objection based on serious road safety concerns.

Is New Road is becoming an accident black spot? In the last two months there has been a tragic and fatal accident as well as a further three-car smash. Will Grainger’s ill considered plans make matters worse? The potential consequences of the road use changes and increased volume of traffic don’t bare thinking about.

Like Didcot Town Council we believe this issue is too important to ignore. Grainger and their consultants on the other hand are less concerned. Their recent ‘Road Safety Audit’ looks at each element of the scheme in isolation. It fails to consider the cumulative safety impact of one feature on any other. For example it’s entirely ignores the positioning of the zebra crossing safe in relation to the right turn and the bus stop and the blind bend.

Well done Didcot Town Council for seeing sense. Well done for putting the safety of the community above profit for developers. We call on SODC to take their lead. It’s time to slow down on New Road. And time to stop this development.