COUNCILS hope to encourage healthy lifestyles, tackle climate change, and provide community benefits as set out in a new Didcot Garden Town Delivery Plan.
The Government awarded Didcot ‘garden town’ status in 2015, endorsing the delivery of 15,000 new jobs and 20,000 new homes in the area.
According to the developers the concept of a ‘garden town’ encompasses the idea of building a ‘complete and wholesome’ place to live. The ‘garden town’ development should have a clear identity, green space, integrated transport, and well-designed homes.
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The Vale of White Horse District Council and South Oxfordshire District Council has since revised the plans, first published in 2017, to help “improve the lives of residents” by looking at how to “improve community spaces, public walkways and cycling networks”.
Plans now include feedback received from residents, businesses, and the parish “sounding boards”.
These include widening the A4130, Science Bridge, Didcot to Culham River Crossing and the Clifton Hampden Bypass, identify cycling and walking improvements, develop a local transport strategy, inclusion of more public art, improving digital inclusion such a publicly accessible Wi-Fi, increasing economic investment and job opportunities, and creating a garden town logo.
The councils also aims to work with local partners to deliver a series of projects connected with the environment and sustainability.
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This includes looking at locations for pop-up events to take place with the theme of health, wellbeing and the environment.
The events will aim to “enhance the sense of community and encourage people to come together”.
Councillor Robin Bennett, cabinet member for economic development and regeneration at South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “Our new, simplified delivery plan gives each of the partners specific projects to focus on, with thanks to the sounding boards for their excellent suggestions.
“Projects such as community gardens and tree planting will help us to put the garden into the Garden Town, while pop-up spaces and our new retail strategy will help us to revitalise Didcot’s historic and much-loved Broadway.”
Councillor Judy Roberts, cabinet member for development and infrastructure at Vale of White Horse District Centre, added: “We’re excited that this revised plan can now be progressed to deliver some great new environmental and community projects that will really benefit everyone’s health and wellbeing.
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“Projects which promote healthy lifestyles will be introduced, including plans to help residents and families to grow their own fruit and vegetables, which was originally suggested by the Residents Sounding Board.”
The next Didcot Garden Town Advisory Board meeting is scheduled to take place on Monday (18).
For more information on the meeting and the revised delivery plan, visit: whitehorsedc.gov.uk/didcot-garden-town
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Read more from this author
This story was written by Gee Harland, she joined the team in 2022 as a senior multimedia reporter.
Gee covers Wallingford and Didcot.
Get in touch with her by emailing: Gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk
Follow her on Twitter @Geeharland
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