Dormant park and ride to finally get access to road

Plans to connect a park and ride site that has been left dormant since being built two years ago to a nearby road have finally been given the go-ahead.

The 850-space facility on the A40 at Eynsham, Oxfordshire was completed in 2024 but has remained closed because it has no road access.

On Tuesday, planning permission was granted for a £126m scheme to improve public transport on the A40 - including by linking it to the Eynsham park and ride site.

Liz Leffman, Oxfordshire County Council's transport chief, said the council was "happy to progress" the "important project".

"Securing planning consent now means we can start delivering improvements that will make journeys along the A40 more reliable and give people better choices for how they travel," she said.

"When completed, the project will support new jobs and housing in the surrounding area."

Under the plans, bus priority lanes, new and upgraded junctions, new crossings and upgraded active travel pathways will be installed on the key commuter route between Oxford and Witney.

Oxfordshire County Council said the project would be carried out in phases, with the first being fully funded by central government.

That will see a new junction installed to connect the A40 with the Eynsham park and ride site - two years after it was first constructed.

Bus priority measures and walking and cycling routes will also be installed to ensure the park and ride site can be fully operational.

The council said the next steps before work could fully get underway would be site clearance and preparation.

Construction is expected to start later this year.

It comes after the scheme was halted for two years in 2022 because of "cost pressures caused by high inflation", leaving the park and ride site - which funded using a grant - dormant.

The BBC previously revealed that security, lighting and fencing at the site was costing £9,531.50 per month, whilst it remained inaccessible to traffic.