JANUARY:

The year began with a notorious drugs gang leader seeing in the new year behind bars.

Neil Wadley, 47, of Pound Lane, Upton, was the leader of a criminal gang and was jailed with nine accomplices at Oxford Crown Court for a total of 91 years and 11 months for their parts in a drug-dealing conspiracy.

Drugs including cocaine and cannabis were sold on the streets in Didcot, Oxford, Swindon and Reading.

Wadley was given a 17-year jail term while his right-hand man Gary Hunt, 39, of Church Street, Didcot, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years.

Another Didcot man, Errol Brown, 52, of Kibble Close, was jailed for six years.

FEBRUARY:

The whole of Didcot was in mourning after the collapse of the boiler house at Didcot Power Station on February 23, which killed four demolition workers.

Emergency services worked round the clock to find the men missing in the rubble at the time after the 10-storey building collapsed.

The police, fire services and ambulance scrambled to the scene at 4.05pm the day before after a loud bang was heard and half the boiler house collapsed.

A large plume of dust enveloped the surrounding area prompted 50 people needing to seek treatment for breathing difficulties.

MARCH:

Parents were informed of a new 420-place primary school set to open in the heart of Great Western Park by September 2018.

Chalkhill Primary School will serve more than 3,300 homes planned for the estate, which lies between the A4130 and the Wantage Road.

Hundreds of families have already moved into the area. Didcot Mayor Des Healy said it was a welcome development, as pupils from the estate currently travelled to schools across Didcot.

He said: “I very much welcome the new school. It seems that Great Western Park is getting bigger every day and at the moment children are going to schools across the town."

APRIL:

A VILLAGE which can trace its history back to the Domesday Book fought to retain its identity after an application for more than 4,000 homes on its doorstep was approved.

Historic Harwell has seen its fair share of developments in recent years with work undergoing at Blenheim Hill, Harwell Campus, Grove Road and Talbot Close.

But after planning approval was granted for 4,254 homes and with a potential 60 homes coming to Didcot Road, residents feel they are 'overwhelmed' and 'hemmed in' by development.

Fighting to retain its identity and not to become part of the 'urban sprawl' of Didcot, Harwell Parish Councillor David Marsh was disappointed the village’s boundaries were not respected by the developers nor protected by Vale of White Horse district council’s local plan.

He said: “The 40 per cent expansion in five years is going to put a strain on any community.

“It is not that we should not have a 40 per cent expansion – we are probably due a catch-up – but to get them all in one fell swoop is just too much."

MAY:

RELATIVES of Ellis Downes, who went missing in May while out swimming, called the police response ‘appalling’.

They demanded a public inquiry, claiming that divers from outside the area, who had volunteered to search the river, were initially refused access by police officers on duty at the scene.

The 16-year-old Harwell teenager got into difficulty at about 9pm on Saturday May 7 in the River Thames after a barbecue with friends off The Burycroft in Culham. Friends, relatives and strangers rallied round to help find the Abingdon and Witney College student, spending hours combing through the riverbanks.

JUNE:

Schoolchildren remembered their 'smiley, happy, precious' classmate 'Dezzy' Jordon by unveiling new play equipment in her memory.

A year ago, Didcot was rocked by the deaths of six-year-old Derin, and her parents, Janet Jordon and Philip Howard.

To commemorate the All Saints School pupil’s life, the headteacher, John Myers, invited school families to enjoy a picnic at the opening of the new playground area.

He said: “The school came together to celebrate her life with a picnic, it was a great way to remember her. We are very grateful to Changing Lives in Didcot for a generous grant of £1,000.”

A plaque has been placed next to the wooden structures at the school in Tamar Way, saying: “In loving memory of Dezzy 23.5.2016.”

Jed Allen, 21, killed half-sister Derin, mother Janet Jordon and her partner Philip Howard on May 23 last year and was found dead in woodland off Marston Ferry Road in Oxford two days later.

Mr Myers previously described Derin as 'beautiful, gentle, quiet, smiley, happy, precious, a lovely girl'.

JULY:

A TWO-DECADE campaign by villagers and councillors for a bypass between Harwell and Didcot looks to be heading for a happy ending.

It was announced in July that work could start on the £11.65m Harwell Link Road as early as September.

It is intended to reduce the amount of traffic through the village and has been a personal campaign for many residents.

County councillor Stewart Lilly said getting the bypass was one of his main objectives when he took up his post in 2009, and says he is delighted.

AUGUST:

Hopes were raised for more than £80 million to be invested in Didcot infrastructure.

Transport bosses said the proposed improvements would be vital as the town’s 'garden' status brings in 15,000 new homes and 20,000 high-tech jobs over the next 15 years.

They bid for £47 million towards the £90 million first phase of Didcot Parkway Station’s expansion, £29 million towards the proposed £43 million ‘science bridge’ over the railway and £6.2 million towards the £12.5 million extension of the northern perimeter road.

Didcot Mayor Steve Connel welcomed the bids, adding they were 'vital' given the town’s rapid growth.

He said: “Over the years Didcot has been a place that has never been thought of as much as areas like Abingdon and Henley, but it has now become the place everyone is talking about and where everyone wants to live and work."

SEPTEMBER:

RESIDENTS demanded action after their homes were ruined by the September flash floods.

Terrified homeowners leapt from their beds at 4am on Friday, September 16 to find water gushing through their front doors.

Steve Pringle lives with his mum, Brenda, who is recovering from chemotherapy, in Bridge Close – one of the worst affected areas.

The 28-year-old said his mum had to move to his sister’s after almost two feet of water flooded their ground floor.

He said: “We have continuously complained about the drains, for about a year now.

“It is a shame that something has had to happen like this for people to actually come and clear it.

"We’ve not only had to pay for the pump to help get rid of the moisture, but we are also paying rent for a house we can barely live in.”

OCTOBER:

A TREASURED Didcot tradition was absent from the town's calendar this year, after organisers announced they struggled to raise money for the event.

For the last 15 years, Didcot Rotary Club has lit up the November sky with a spectacular fireworks display.

But the club decided its 2015 charity event at the Lloyd Recreation Ground in Brasenose Road was its last and a firm that had hoped to step in has been unable to meet the costs.

Shelagh Garvey, member of Didcot Rotary Club, said: “We self funded this event completely by ourselves year after year. The reason we stopped was because we were always worried about safety issues because of sparks flying off the bonfire."

NOVEMBER:

MILITARY ties in southern Oxfordshire will be severed after the Government announced its plan to sell some of the district’s key bases last month.

Communities mourned the loss of long-standing military connections after the Ministry of Defence revealed Dalton Barracks near Abingdon and Vauxhall Barracks in Didcot will go up for sale.

The move – which will affect 950 service personnel at Dalton and 260 more at Vauxhall, along with their families – is part of a review of 56 defence sites set to close by 2040 to save £140m.

DECEMBER:

Christmas fever grasped a family from Didcot after they decorated their home in thousands of lights to raise money for charity.

For the last 15 years Russell and Juliette Pearson have been spreading smiles on their neighbours’ faces with their outdoor Christmas display and this year will be raising money for The Footsteps Foundation.

Previously the couple have raised between £300 and £400 for different children’s charities across Oxfordshire.

Also this month, Didcot residents got a surprise in the shape of a bid to include the town in the name of its constituency.

Town promotion group Didcot First submitted a bid to to change the name of the Wantage parliamentary area to either Didcot, or Didcot and Wantage.

With planned growth in Didcot, the group said it was set to become the ‘principal’ town in the constituency.