Sir – In response to a letter from Mr St John (Letters, June 28) in which he questions my memory of the Cogges Link Road plan 20 years ago, I am quite aware of its progress as at that time I was county councillor for Iffley. My memory is crystal clear, but unlike Mr St John I don’t have the luxury of living in the past.
I try to make sure the decisions I make are always focused on current benefit and a better future for the area I represent.
When the A40 was detrunked, when Madley Park and Deer Park were built, when the patterns of traffic in Witney changed utterly, when the floods of 2007 highlighted the inadequacy of flood mapping and defences, I considered carefully how this might alter the case for what became a pointless, wasteful scheme driving a road across the country park and putting our homes at risk. The funny thing is that local Conservatives didn’t even seem to take a moment to think at any point in the last 20 years that maybe it was they who were wrong, when so many experts and local people were adamant that Cogges Link Road would be far the worst option when compared with a four-way junction at Shores Green.
Now is the time for the county to push ahead and build the Shores Green scheme, as instructed by the Secretary of State.
Duncan Enright, Witney
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