The Parish Council continues to lead opposition to the HIF1 Road in its own name and through the Neighbouring Parish Council Joint Committee (NPC-JC) which represents 5 parish councils – Appleford, Sutton Courtenay, Culham, Burcot and Clifton Hampden and Nuneham Courtenay.
We are also working with other alliances – Oxfordshire Roads Action Alliance (ORAA), Oxford Friends of the Earth, and Transport Action Network (TAN).
The Joint Committee (NPC-JC ) has submitted a detailed objection to HIF1 in response to the Regulation 25 material and consultation.
The HIF1 scheme fails on multiple levels and should be rejected.
The HIF1 scheme conflicts with:
- National Planning Guidance Framework (NPPF, PPGs & WebTAG).
- Legally binding climate and C02 reduction policies and targets.
- Oxfordshire’s Local Transport and Connectivity Plan (LTCP).
- It fails to demonstrate how car usage (1 in 4 trips by 2030) can be reduced and has no public transport provision whatsoever.
- The road is incompatible with the LTCP and OCCs own climate policies.
- HIF1 is not needed as claimed to deliver housing development plans.
- There is no Health Impact Assessment (HIA), a serious omission!
- The Traffic Assessment and modelling is deficient. It ignores induced demand
- HIF is not financially viable or deliverable within the completion deadline.
- Construction inflation has been ignored and back loaded spending increases the risk that inflation will make the project unviable and stop work midway.
- Why start a project you know is unaffordable.
- The total project cost £296m (before inflation) is excessive and is £33m per mile (£296m / 9 miles) is very poor value for money for an A road.
Downloads
- Addendum A – Didcot HIF1 Bridge design & landscape
- Appx 1 Didcot HIF1 Assessment of alternatives 20.1.23
- Appx 2 Didcot HIF1 Landscape objection 20.1.23
- Appx 3 Didcot HIF1 TA Review Update 6.1.23
- Appx 4 Didcot HIF1 Scheme Reconciliation Update 18.1.23
- Appx 5 Didcot HIF1 NPC-JC Reply to Reg 25 response (Air Quality) 17.1.23
- Appx 6 Didcot HIF1 NPC-JC Reply to Reg 25 response (Noise) 17.1.23
- NPC-Joint Committee – Further objection 20.1.23
The HIF1 scheme is particularly damaging for Appleford and should not proceed for the following reasons.
- No Health Impact Assessment (HIA) impact has been conducted.
- The elevated road and flyover bridge will damage human health and enjoyment of the village for residents.
- At 10m (30 ft) the Flyover is too high and visually intrusive.
- The Noise assessment focuses on Main Road traffic and not HIF1.
Traffic Noise will add to nuisance rail noise will damage local health. - HIF will impact Air Quality and rise above WHO safety limits.
This will damage the health of residents permanently. - Air Quality
There will be a minimum of 200 HGV daily movements past the village,
spewing emissions as they accelerate fully laden up the HIF incline. - The Vale Planning Officer recognises that the road is too close to Appleford (and recommends that it should be moved west).
- The HIF1 Road increase traffic and will not reduce it as claimed. (The Ladygrove development of 1800 houses has been ignored)
- Local traffic modelling has not been carried out & treated as out of scope.
- Section C the section that passes Appleford is estimated at £160m.
That equates to circa £60m per mile for a section less than 3 miles. This is unaffordable and poor value for money.
Please keep abreast of HIF developments and continue to write to your Councillor (richard.webber@oxfordshire.gov.uk ) and to the leadership at Oxfordshire Co. Co. Cllr Liz Leffman ( liz.leffman@oxfordshire.gov.uk ) and https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/council/about-your-council/oxfordshire-councillors/cabinet
Planning objection – Although the consultation period is closed you have a legal right to object prior to any hearing (expected Feb or March). You can write to the Planning Officer Emily Catcheside at ( Planning@oxfordshire.gov.uk ) quoting ref R3.0128/21.
You can also use the ORAA website which provides a wording template that you can use to submit your objection. Simply click on option 1 and follow instructions on this link. https://oraa.org.uk/take-action
Please continue to support your Parish Council who have devoted energy and resources to defending our village from the damaging impacts of HIF1. There is a lot at stake and this is not something to ignore.
Further updates will follow as they arise.
Appleford-on-Thames Parish Council
21 Jan 2023