A REVAMP of Thames Valley Police’s headquarters in Kidlington has been given go-ahead despite opposition from neighbours.

A new three-storey building will be constructed at the Oxford Road site after police said it had become too expensive to maintain the current building.

However, people living nearby as well as Gosford and Water Eaton Parish Council objected to the £3.7m scheme because they said there is a lack of parking on the site.

They think the expansion will mean more people parking in the road outside their homes.

Michael Makepeace, 70, of Oxford Road, said: “The problem is Thames Valley Police refuses to acknowledge it is being a nuisance.

“The site has insufficient car parking space – it is choc-a-bloc now – and if you bring more staff on the site where do they park?

“When people are trying to get out of their drives, with the cars parked there and because it is a narrow service road, you can’t see what’s coming. The obstruction of view makes it dangerous.

“The site cannot contain it and it is effectively unsuitable. The bottom line is they should seek an alternative site.”

The site currently has 315 parking spaces for its 392 staff. The expansion will see the construction of 49 new spaces for the 75 extra full time equivalent staff that will be based at the site.

Gosford and Water Eaton Parish Council member John Bunn said: “The main objection is the parking.

“From time to time, if they have a very important meeting there, a lot of cars arrive and there is not enough room so they have to park in the service road. We are talking to police about them using Water Eaton Park and Ride.”

But the application received no objections from Oxfordshire County Council.

Planning officers at Cherwell District Council said in a report: “In terms of parking, this has been carefully considered and the application proposes levels commensurate with existing demand.

“The supporting documents include parking surveys, both on and off site, and show there is a small level of spare capacity within the site and negligible overflow to the highway network.”

Councillors at Cherwell District Council approved the application on Thursday.

Planning committee member George Reynolds said: “There were concerns regarding traffic but the county council, as the highway authority, felt there was no need for any more parking or changes to the access, and we have to go along with what they say because they are the experts on traffic.”

The office block will be 40m long and 13m wide and will have a floor space of more than 1,500 sq m.

It is not yet known when work will start.

Thames Valley Police head of corporate support Nick Harverson said: “Although the site will be able to accommodate over 400 vehicles we aware of some concerns regarding parking and will be seeking to address these to minimise the impact on our neighbours.”

The office block will replace a previous three-storey building, which was demolished in 2008, and could accommodate up to 180 staff.