Oxfordshire report warns delay could blow £70m road budget

Work to build a four-and-a-half mile stretch of the A40, new bus lanes, cycle lanes and pedestrian crossings between Eynsham and Wolvercote is set to begin in mid-June.

If it does not, the multi-million-pound budget could be blown, a report states, as it says “the current cost estimate and programme depend on enabling works” by that time.

A meeting to approve the signing of the works contract with builders Balfour Beatty is set for Monday, June 1.

The report adds: “Approving this construction contract is necessary to keep the programme on track and use the Homes England grant before the deadline.

“Any funding not spent by the funding deadline will be lost.”

There have been significant delays to the scheme, which started in 2022, only to be halted because of funding issues.

In recent months, it was held up due to a planning request for environmental information, which the report says “had a knock-on effect on the governance approval process and timings”.

The setbacks have left the 19-acre, £32 million Eynsham Park and Ride idle since its completion in January 2024.

Costing around £10,000 a month in maintenance and security.

Conservative county and West Oxfordshire councillor, Liam Walker, said: “It’s good to see this long-delayed scheme finally moving towards construction.

“I’ve been pushing for the council to get this project going for some time, so it’s welcome that work is expected to begin.”

Mr Walker had marked the second birthday of the unused park and ride with a birthday cake.

Liam Walker, the leader of the Oxfordshire Conservatives, celebrated the two-year anniversary of the Eynsham Park in Ride with a birthday cake on Saturday, January 31. (Image: Ed Nix)

He stated: “This whole project really has become a huge embarrassment for the Liberal Democrat administration, with repeated delays and rising costs.”

Dan Levy, cabinet member for finance, said the unused £32m facility had been “embarrassing” for the council, but it had been “the most cost-effective and efficient way to do things”.

The council said the park and ride was completed on time and to budget because of a separate ring-fenced grant, and if it had been delayed with the roadworks, it would have been hit by inflation.

Eynsham park and ride (Image: Ed Nix)

Eynsham county councillor Dan Levy (Image: Contributed)

Mr Walker added that he remains “concerned” about “scrapped” A40 dual carriageway plans, saying “this scheme would have been far better aligned with wider improvements to the route”.

He also has apprehensions about traffic lights being used for park and ride access, rather than a roundabout, saying it “risks making journeys past Eynsham even more frustrating for motorists”.

He states: “Let’s hope this project is now delivered on time and ideally under budget.”

Previously, Oxfordshire County Council said the dualling is not included in the A40 improvements because it cannot be delivered within the funding available.

Mr Levy stated: “It’s taken a lot of work to make sure that the scheme that will get approved next week will be one that fits the finance envelope and meets the environment agencies demands for that stretch of road.

“But it will finally happen.”