Banbury MP Tony Baldry has welcomed proposals for a garden city in Bicester.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg confirmed the town would become the latest city to adopt the plan following Ebbsfleet, and will see 13,000 homes and £1million in government funding.

Mr Baldry, whose constituency covers Bicester, said: “I very much welcome the proposal that Bicester should become a garden city.

“In Bicester we already have the eco-town project.

“We already have plans for new housing on the Kingsmere estate and elsewhere, so it makes sense to have a coherent town development with very substantial amounts of government-provided new money.

“With the East West rail link being constructed Bicester will also be one of the few communities across the country with both East/West and North/South rail links.

“Bicester town has recently been completely regenerated, but in a way which retains the essential market town characteristics of Bicester, so this will be a new garden city, which at its heart goes back to St Edburg and the Saxons.

“I also think this is an initiative which has broad community support.”

Mr Baldry said he expected millions of pounds to be made available to improve the roads network around Bicester.

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