A 'SCIENCE' bridge, river crossing and dual carriageway could still become reality after a bid was submitted for £171m of funding for a 'Garden Town' in Didcot.

The bid is part of a larger pitch for £500m of funding for infrastructure investments that was sent to the Government yesterday by the Oxfordshire Growth Board – made up of the county's six council leaders as well as other key players in the economy.

The bid, which was submitted by Oxfordshire County Council as transport authority, seeks funding for three major development schemes: Didcot garden town, West Oxfordshire garden village, and improvements north of Oxford.

Just two weeks ago the Oxford Mail reported that Didcot garden town could miss out on funding after the county council said it 'lacked confidence' in South Oxfordshire District Council's (SODC) commitment to working with it.

But those differences have now been ironed out and the garden town scheme is the priority for funding – which would come from the Government's £2.3bn Housing Infrastructure Fund, which seeks to support up to 100,000 new homes around the country.

SODC leader John Cotton said: "Significant improvement in the local roads and other transport networks are a must if we are to cope with the housing growth Oxfordshire needs.

"This has always been at the heart of what we believe Didcot garden town can achieve.

"The bid for nearly £250m for the town is a strong one.

"I am certain that it will secure the investment needed to give the local economy a boost and to improve the quality of life in our area for generations to come."

Up to 22,000 homes could be built under the garden town scheme, which could be boosted by £171m of transport improvements.

They would include a science bridge linking the town with Milton Park, the A4130 dual carriageway project and a river crossing at Culham.

Another £70m of cycle and sustainable transport improvements could also be funded.

Oxford City Council leader, and chairman of the Oxfordshire Growth Board, Bob Price, said: “Oxfordshire’s knowledge economy is of both national and global significance and critical to the long term economic success of UK plc.

"We are now seeking investment support to tackle the constraints on our continued economic success from a lack of capacity on the strategic and local transport networks, lack of choice and high costs of housing, high demand for employment space and the barriers high growth businesses face in scaling up.”

The government will choose which schemes go through to a second stage next spring.

Funding awards will be announced in summer 2018.

West Oxfordshire garden village is the bid’s second priority.

That £135.4m bid would pay for further upgrades to the A40 and would support more than 10,000 new homes in Witney, Carterton and around Eynsham.

The third priority is for development for rapid transit lines for the upgraded A44 and A4260 corridors, a new park and ride north of Oxford. and boosted cycle infrastructure.

To help support 5,570 homes that could be built in Woodstock, Begbroke, Yarnton and around the so-called northern gateway.

County council leader Ian Hudspeth said: “We believe all three bids are robust, deliverable and have a good chance of success.

"The funding they seek would lead to significant improvement in infrastructure to support expected growth in jobs and much needed new housing in a planned way.”