PLANS for a new park-and-ride near Abingdon have been criticised by campaign groups.

Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet met yesterday to approve the Local Transport Plan, which contains the proposals for a series of new park-and-rides including one at Lodge Hill.

The plan is a blueprint for how transport will be organised in the county in coming years.

If backed by full council in September the county council will then use it as a basis to bid for money for schemes from the Government.

But campaigners at the meeting at County Hall raised a number of objections to the plans, which propose new park-and-rides at Eynsham, Cumnor, Lodge Hill, Sandford-on-Thames, Langford Lane in Kidlington and a site east of Kidlington.

These would replace existing park-and-rides owned by Oxford City Council at Seacourt, Redbridge and Pear Tree.

Concerns were also raised at yesterday’s meeting about the potential impact of a park-and-ride at Eynsham.

A consultation on the Local Transport Plan was held earlier this year.

Sunningwell Parishioners Against Damage to the Environment (SPADE) spokesman Bob Warne was one of those who addressed the cabinet about Lodge Hill.

He said: “We fail to see how sufficient consideration could have been given to the 500-plus consultation responses.

“We oppose strongly the park-and-ride strategy which will compromise the openness of the Green Belt.

“These proposals should be removed from the plan because the county has failed to look at alternatives.”

North Abingdon Local Plan Group representative Ticia Lever also raised concerns.

She said: “The proposals in Lodge Hill are contrary to Green Belt national planning policy.

“A park-and-ride will have a detrimental impact for any number of reasons including constant noise and light pollution.”

There are currently no firm proposals for where the Lodge Hill park-and-ride would be built and cabinet member for transport David Nimmo Smith stressed that nothing in the Local Transport Plan was a certainty.

He said: “It could be argued that the park and rides inside the ring road are not in the best location. We want to give people the choice by having park and rides further out.”

But Lib Dem councillor Jean Fooks was supportive of the Eynsham proposal.

She said: “It looks very sensible I am happy with it subject to what people in Eynsham think.”

Full council will now examine the Local Transport Plan in September and decide whether or not to approve it.