A £12M relief road in Didcot has been proposed to relieve pressure on a heavily congested roundabout.

A ring road from the A4130 at Hadden Hill near the golf club, to link up with Abingdon Road where it meets the Ladygrove ring road, is proposed by South Oxfordshire District Council District council leader John Cotton said it was important that the relief road was built now that the £50m phase two scheme for the Orchard shopping centre had been agreed.

He said the road would take pressure off Jubilee Way roundabout.

He said: “We need that road now and are in talks with the county council about funding it.

“We have paid for detailed studies and could reach an agreement in the next couple of months.

“Twelve million pounds is a significant sum but we could contribute by capital funding.

“It could be a loan from us to the county.

“It would be fantastic to start work next year. It could take a couple of years for it to be built.”

He said he was “optimistic” a deal would be reached with the county early next year.

He added: “The relief road would start near the entrance to Hadden Hill golf club and pop out where Abingdon Road and the Ladygrove ring road meet.

“At the moment it is slightly more attractive to go through the town than it is to go round the town and the relief road would change that.”

Earlier this year a diversion route for buses accessing the Orchard Centre was created along Station Road to avoid the Jubilee Way roundabout.

Mr Cotton added: “The relief road would take pressure off Jubilee Way roundabout and we could persuade them to use the roundabout rather than Station Road.

“The Station Road option would have to be used initially but once the relief road was built that could change.”

He said previous plans for a relief road did not go ahead because the council had been relying on contributions from developers proposing to build new homes.

He added: “We have to find a way to pay for this. We can’t wait for developer contributions.”

Didcot town council leader Charlie Robertson said: “Anything to alleviate pressure on town centre traffic would be good.

“As Didcot expands there will be more cars on the roads.”

Ross Jenner, of the golf club pro shop, said: “We are aware of plans for the relief road, which would take up a tiny corner of our land.

“Ecological surveys have taken place to see if endangered species would be affected by the work so it looks like this is moving forward.”

County council cabinet member for transport David Nimmo Smith said: “We need this relief road and need to fund it.”