COUNCILLORS say they are furious about the lack of progress over the £60m redevelopment of Didcot's "gateway" and fear the site will deteriorate further unless action is taken.

The scheme planned for land opposite Didcot Parkway station, which includes a hotel, 300 homes, a decked car park for the train station and a nursery, was granted outline planning application this year.

But two months on South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC), which owns the land, has yet to confirm a developer for the scheme or a company to run the eight-storey hotel.

Town and district councillor Margaret Davies said she was very concerned about the scheme's lack of progress.

She said: "It is not turning out the way anybody would want it to - this is a lose-lose scheme at present.

"If nobody is coming forward to spruce it up I am very concerned that this land is just being left in a state of disrepair.

"They have granted outline planning permission and now they are waiting for a developer – one would have thought these conversations would have been taking place for quite some time."

Mrs Davies warned that having the deteriorating site opposite the main entrance to the town was not good for Didcot's image.

She said: "To have this mess immediately outside the railway station is not the best introduction to the town.

"I am really concerned that if they have not got to a better stage, having not identified a developer to take it forward, this will just collapse."

The future of the Prince of Wales pub next to the site also hangs in the balance after it was not included in the redevelopment plans.

A Greene King spokesman said: "This planning application was submitted without any formal agreement between ourselves and the council.

"The Prince of Wales is a popular and well-loved pub in the community and a landmark historic building. We do not wish to see it demolished and have no plans to sell the business."

Deputy town council leader Bill Service said he was concerned that if the district council did not find a hotel company to take on the plans, there would be high-rise accommodation instead.

He said: "We have had nothing come from South Oxfordshire District Council.

"The last I heard they could not get a hotel company to take up the challenge.

"It is my own personal view that if they can not get a hotel company to come in then I think they will put high-rise accommodation on there.

"If you look at all the other buildings in the town, there is nothing higher than four storeys."

Dissatisfied residents in the town have already formed campaign group Gateway Aware to change details on the application which they feel would overshadow their homes.

South Oxfordshire District Council leader John Cotton, said: "It is going to be a while before we have anything.

"There is a lot of stuff going on at the moment, this is an important scheme but this is one of a number of important schemes.

"Nothing is going to happen in the next couple of weeks but in the summer we will have some more detail then."