A county councillor is calling for a reduction in council tax for those living in a Didcot development because they are not getting a full range of services.

Residents living in the 3,300-home Great Western Park estate are faced with roads which are yet to be adopted by local councils. 

This is despite the first people moving in more than 12 years ago. 

Ian Snowdon, Conservative district and county councillor for Didcot West, said: “For the residents of new housing developments in Oxfordshire like Great Western Park where I am currently getting nowhere fast with developers in repairing streetlights, broken manhole covers, damaged drains, overflowing bins, tackling anti-social behaviour and illegal parking, blocked sewer pipes and so on. 

“Most residents in Oxfordshire are able to contact the council for these issues, but for more and more residents they have to chase developers again and again but often get nowhere, and it's simply because the councils are making little to no progress in adopting these estates.”

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Great Western Park (Image: Contributed) He added: “One example is last year I had to repeatedly email Taylor Wimpey about a road on Great Western Park that had no working streetlights whatsoever, fortunately we do have a very low crime rate but it was dangerous walking after dark without a torchlight, and simply shouldn’t be the case.

“Residents do of course still have to pay a full council tax, heaven forbid a discount for reduced services.”

Oxfordshire County Council said in a statement: “The county council is working with the developers at the Great Western Park estate to get to a point where we can adopt the majority of estate roads. Adoption of the roads will also include apparatus such as streetlights, footways, drainage and verges that are adjacent to the road and associated with the highway.

"It would not be responsible of the council to adopt roads that are not at the standard required and there are currently outstanding issues that must be resolved before the roads can become highway maintainable at public expense. 

“The requirement is on the developer to complete the roads to an adoptable standard, in addition to meeting all adoption criteria, before the roads become maintainable at the public expense.”

A spokesperson for the developer Taylor Wimpey said: “We are actively working towards the adoption of Great Western Park.

"The process is complex and involves multiple stakeholders, including service providers, local authorities, and elected councillors. We are keen to progress as quickly as possible and welcome a collaborative approach to ensure that there are no delays.

“Our focus remains to finalise the outstanding areas on the development. In the meantime, we are committed to addressing any concerns raised by residents promptly to maintain the quality of the development during this transitional period.”

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About the author  

Toby is a senior reporter who has a particular interest in covering planning and local government. 

He joined in September 2024 having been a reporter at the Hampshire Chronicle for three years. 

Toby studied at the University of Brighton and can be found on X through the handle @JournoToby