DRIVERS in Didcot will face traffic gridlock for months once work gets under way on a new £6.7m railway station forecourt, a leading councillor has warned.

Earlier this year, Oxfordshire County Council approved a plan to landscape the forecourt at Didcot Parkway to benefit pedestrians, car drivers, buses and cyclists.

The work will take 18 months and Margaret Davies, leader of the town council, is warning that a drainage scheme which is part of the improvements could create major delays.

She said work to lay a pipe between the station forecourt and Cow Lane Bridge would cause major delays for drivers on a busy cross-town route.

She added: “In rush hour, commuter traffic will be gridlocked and there will be some displacement of traffic onto Broadway. There could be traffic delays for about six months.”

County council spokesman Louise Mendonca said the likely start date for the scheme was this October. She added: “The first stage is for the contractor to firm up on the final contract programme.

“This will involve a series of meetings to formalise procedures and timescales for approvals necessary for the project to proceed.”

Didcot Chamber of Commerce chairman Mike Foster said: “There will be some delays for drivers, but you have to take some short-term pain to get long-term gain, and the idea of improving the forecourt is to bring in more visitors.”

Resurfacing work will begin on August 6 on the A4130 perimeter road in Didcot.

A 50-metre stretch of the northern approach to the Basil Hill roundabout will be resurfaced.

The work will take three nights to complete.

During this time, the A4130 will be closed to traffic between the Basil Hill and Hawksworth roundabouts, with a diversion on to Station Road, Hitchcock Way, and the remaining section of the perimeter road.