An important link road to support new housing developments in Wantage and Grove is a step closer after a bid for nearly £8million of funding was submitted by Vale of White Horse District Council to the government.
The Wantage Eastern Link Road will connect the A338 near Mably Way to the A417 on the eastern side of Wantage. It will provide direct access to the 1,500 homes in the Crab Hill development, and will also provide a clear route between the Grove Airfield development and the A417 east of Wantage. The other benefits of the new road include keeping through-traffic away from Charlton Primary School.
If the bid to the government is successful it will contribute to the cost of the road along with other sources of funding, including housing developer contributions from the airfield and Crab Hill developments.
The Section 106 agreement for the airfield development includes a sizeable contribution to the link road, but that money will be paid over a number of years while the houses are built, so a proportion of the potential government funding would act as an advance so the link road could be built more quickly.
When the developer contributions from the airfield development do then come forward, it can be redeployed onto other infrastructure projects, such as link road north of Grove to connect the airfield development with the A338 north of the Williams F1 factory.
Cllr Matthew Barber, leader of the Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “I think everybody agrees this road is absolutely vital. Securing this funding from the government would mean we can get it built more quickly. Along with the new Leisure Centre on Mably Way, we’re working hard to ensure the infrastructure is in place before the majority of the houses are built.”