BUILDING work on the £3m redesign of Didcot Parkway’s forecourt will start next autumn – and could last up to a year-and-a-half.

Oxfordshire County Council engineers have unveiled their construction plans for the station, revealing the first demolition work would start in January, ahead of building work in August or September.

Flooding risk means there will be major roadworks on Station Road during the 75-week-long project, which could cause disruption to commuters and shoppers.

Throughout the project, engineers hope to maintain access for cars, taxis and buses, including rail-replacement services.

On completion, parking spaces at the station will be cut by a quarter, from 236 to 181, but there will be extra capacity for taxis, motorbikes, and buses.

County council engineer Julian Hartness said: “The design we’ve come up with reflects the sort of usage there now, with capacity for development in the future.”

The Environment Agency has insisted the redesigned forecourt must be able to cope with a one-in-100-year storm, plus 30 per cent extra severity in case of climate change.

Mr Hartness said: “We’ve had a bit of a problem designing something that works, but we have managed to achieve it. It should manage to stop any future flooding of the station itself.”

Huge underground tanks will be built beneath the car park to limit water flows into the Cow Lane underpass, and new drainage pipes will be installed under Station Road.

John Cotton, district councillor for Didcot, said he was “staggered” by how long the building work would take, but said it was an important project.

He said: “It is the first in what I hope will become several projects to brighten up and improve Didcot’s public realm.

“As people arrive at the train station and step out, we want them to have a good impression of the town.”

Taxi firm boss Harold Swanborough, 75, who has carried fares from the station since 1955, said the site’s long, narrow shape meant revamping the forecourt would not solve its design flaws. He said: “They should have built another entrance on the other side of the line.

“That would have put the station right in the centre of the town, rather than cutting off Ladygrove.”