Progress announcement for unused Oxfordshire park and ride

The 850-space facility on the A40 at Eynsham, was completed in 2024 but has remained closed because it has no road access.

Oxfordshire County Council is expected to sign a deal with builders Balfour Beatty on Monday to build a four-and-a-half mile stretch of the A40, as well as new bus lanes, cycle lanes and pedestrian crossings between Eynsham and Wolvercote.

READ MORE: Park-and-ride will be completed

A council report said the park and ride was expected to open in 2027.

Development on the site began in 2022 but the scheme was halted for two years because of cost issues.

The site is unused at the moment, but a planning application to connect it to the A40 was submitted in July last year.

The council said the park and ride was completed on time and to budget because of a separate ring-fenced grant, though “cost pressures caused by high inflation” temporarily halted the rest of the A40 improvements scheme.

Oxfordshire county councillor Dan Levy (Image: Contributed)

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”.

He added: “There’s no point pretending it’s a glorious triumph – it isn’t but the outcome is the best it can be given the circumstances.

“The scheme we were left with by the previous administration was grossly over-specced and wasn’t properly financed.

“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.”

Traffic on the A40 (Image: Oxford Mail)

The expected council approval will also mark the completion of the wider A40 project, aimed at improving transport connections, promoting sustainable travel such as cycling, and reducing emissions.

It will also create new jobs and support the requirements of major local housing developments in west Oxfordshire, such as the planned 2,200 homes at Salt Cross garden village between Witney and Oxford.

The entire project also includes a new junction with traffic lights at the park-and-ride and an upgrade to the Eynsham roundabout.

All major construction work at the 19-acre site on the A40 eastbound in Eynsham was completed in January 2024.

At the end of last year, Conservative county councilor Liam Walker criticised the way the scheme had been handled.

He described the costs as “outrageous” and said it “continued to be an embarrassment” for the Liberal Democrat administration.

He added at the time: “I think it’s outrageous that it’s costing nearly £10,000 per month to essentially maintain an empty car park.”