RESIDENTS say they have been snubbed by Oxfordshire County council after they criticised the response to a major development in North Oxford.

The Wolvercote Neighbourhood Forum and several county councillors raised concerns the council, as highways authority, has not fully addressed traffic issues likely to arise from the Northern Gateway development.

They fear extra commuters travelling to the site could clog up roads in Wolvercote and Summertown. The scheme would see a business park, hotel and up to 500 homes built on land bordered by the A40, A34 and A44.

But fears have been voiced that the council’s traffic plan – which so far amounts to roundabout improvements at two junctions – is not enough.

Wolvercote Neighbourhood Forum member Graham Jones said: “We are not at all happy.

“Many people here went to the public exhibitions that were held for the plans and it was felt a lot of questions were not satisfactorily answered.

“And what is of concern is that Oxford City Council’s plan for the Northern Gateway is still being pushed forward, on the basis that the county council’s traffic measure will be more than enough.

“But we feel it falls well short. One only has to drive around Oxford at the moment to see how bad things can be. They need to come up with a plausible traffic scheme.

“Perhaps the council will not meet with us because it recognises it has more work to do, but we want to know if they have answers for us.”

St Margaret’s county councillor John Howson, Summertown councillor Jean Fooks and Wolvercote councillor Steve Goddard have all backed calls for the meeting.

Mr Howson said: “The Northern Gateway clearly has strategic implications for transport, because people have got to get there somehow. The council needs to explain to residents what their plan is.”

Oxfordshire County Council previously said it has no intention to meet residents, who have demanded that plans for a link road between the A40 and the A44 to divert traffic away from North Oxford be presented – with funding secured – before the Northern Gateway goes ahead.

As reported in the Oxford Mail, the link road failed to secure £12m in Government funding after the scheme was given a low priority in a bid for finance.

The scheme – to link the A40 with the A44 Woodstock Road and A34 – is part of measures outlined as essential for the proposed Northern Gateway development by a planning inspector But while county officials have said improvements to overhaul the Woodstock and Banbury Road roundabouts are necessary, they insist a link road is “not required”.

County council spokesman Dominic Llewellyn-Jones said: “Residents who have concerns around the proposed plans can raise them through the Northern Gateway consultation process.”

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