I’m more hopeful about bypass, says council leader

THE chairman of Watlington Parish Council says he is feeling more positive about a proposed bypass for the town.

Councillor Matt Reid was speaking after attending a meeting to discuss the plans with officers from Oxfordshire County Council, the highways authority, and engineering firm AECOM.

The meeting was chaired by Councillor Steve Harrod, the town’s representative on the county council.

Cllr Reid said: “We have an edge road — how it connects to the rest of the traffic network is the big question.

“I certainly think it’s in a better place than we thought it was.”

The meeting followed concerns about proposed changes to the route of the new road, which would run through five development sites in the town and neighbouring Pyrton.

The bypass would go from the B4009 Pyrton crossroads north of Watlington to Britwell Road in the south, running north of the former pig farm, where 183 homes are to be built, and then cut across Cuxham Road and eventually join the B4009. The county council has been considering a “plan B” option that would use Willow Close and the existing Cuxham Road roundabout.

Cllr Reid said residents were “utterly against” this.

The county council said it had to be seen to be considering all options.