THE approval of expansion plans at Bicester Village and Tesco is great news for the economy of the town and the county.

Councillors yesterday gave the schemes the go-ahead, partly on the back of massive improvements planned for roads in the area.

That was an absolute must because, frankly, the current set-up is unacceptable for local residents.

Boxing Day was yet another horror story for people living in nearby streets – the influx of shoppers looking for a bargain reached such epidemic proportions that Bicester Village had to take the extreme step of tweeting for people not to turn up.

It could never be accepted that we ignore the plight of that community just because there is a massive economic development being built on their doorstep.

Westgate Oxford Alliance, a group formed by the co-owners of the site Land Securities Group and the Crown Estate, opposed the plans because it said it would potentially harm the city’s long-awaited retail renaissance.

That was a foolish position to take.

Bicester may well steal a march on Oxford through this exciting project, but any impact on the city is down, in the main, to the years of bumbling over finally sorting Westgate.