Didcot Garden Town to benefit from £6.2M government boost

Didcot Garden Town – a sustainable housing development intended to deliver affordable homes, new schools and a raft of employment opportunities, all without compromising the surrounding countryside – is today a step closer, following a £6.2M boost on behalf of the UK government.

Housing Minister Alok Sharma made the announcement last week, awarding the considerable sum to South Oxfordshire District Council. Crucially, this investment will accelerate delivery of Didcot’s Northern Perimeter Road – a transport link critical to Didcot Garden Town’s future success.

South Oxfordshire District Council plans to build 15,000 new homes in Didcot by 2031. But if the development is to succeed, the surrounding infrastructure must also be upgraded to relieve pressures along the local transport network and accommodate Didcot’s rapidly expanding community.

It’s well worth the trouble however. This infrastructure investment promises to boost economic growth in the region and bolster employment by 20,000 over the next 20 years.

According to the Housing and Planning Minister, Alok Sharma: “We need to deliver the right infrastructure in the right places to speed up housebuilding and deliver the homes this country needs.

“This £6.2M funding is excellent news for the Oxfordshire area, promising to boost local growth and turbo-charge the delivery of thousands of new homes.”

Councillor John Cotton, Leader of South Oxfordshire District Council added: “The district council made a commitment to residents in Didcot that the Garden Town project would deliver infrastructure. So I’m really pleased that we are able to fund the completion of the Northern Perimeter Road – a project that has been sat waiting for years.

“Once completed, the road will relieve pressure elsewhere in the town and provide a real boost to other Garden Town proposals.”

Earlier in the year, the government unveiled its Housing White Paper which highlighted how “well-planned, well-designed” communities have a role to play in meeting the UK’s long-term housing needs. Today, ten garden towns and cities are in the works, along with 14 garden villages.

The Department for Communities and Local Government went on to award further funding for a tranche of large-scale housing developments, including:

• £2.6M for the regeneration of Poole Power Station in Dorset
• £1.25M to fund infrastructure in the Waterside region of Nottingham
• £9.6M for the development of Parkhurst Urban Village on the Isle of Wight

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