Locals slam ‘big waste of cash’ after council builds £51m automobile park

A £51million car park has been condemned as a ‘huge waste of money’ as locals have to wait more than two years before anyone can actually use it.

All major construction work at the 850-space car park in Eynsham, Oxfordshire, was completed in January – and landscaping was finished last month.

But there will be no vehicles parking at the 19-acre site until funding is secured for the infrastructure to connect it to the A40 – which could potentially be in 2027.

Yet with all the building and landscape work done, Oxfordshire County Council is now providing ongoing maintenance to the empty site as part of a current contract.

A nearby trader has now said: ‘The general consensus is that it is a huge waste of money.

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‘You’d much rather they were spending that money on things that are actually needed at the moment.’ 

Work has to be done each week, including grass cutting, topsoiling and seeding as needed, despite no cars being able to use the site. 

The situation has been blamed on the part-cancellation of the A40 improvements programme due to rising costs.

The planning application for the park and ride was made in April 2021 and funding from the Department of Transport was approved the following December.

Oxfordshire County Council also secured funding for the access road and proposed roundabout along with other elements of the A40 improvements project.

These included an extension of the dual carriageway from Witney to the park and ride and a four-mile bus lane in both directions from the park and ride to Duke’s Cut bridge at Wolvercote roundabout.

But this project had to be redesigned because cost pressures, including inflation, meant it couldn’t be completed within the available budget.

Residents who live nearby to the car park have slammed the project describing it as a white elephant. 

Jenny Higgs , a retired 75-year-old who lives nearby, said: ‘I think it’s one big white elephant. They have spent £51m on it. There is no access, they have to put the lights on at night and then there’s maintenance – they have to cut the grass and that’s all costing more money.

‘I don’t know what else to say because it’s just so ridiculous.

‘Everybody around here is talking about it and they are frankly up in arms.’

A local resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said: ‘I think it is a big waste of money.

‘Without proper planning, the park and ride is there ready – taking up a lot of space, destroying a lot of wildlife and it is not able to be used until further funding is secured. I think it is a real shame.’

Roger Bass, aged 83 years, said: ‘To me, it’s a white elephant. I don’t think it will be used often enough anyway.

‘I think if it does eventually open, it’s not going to be used that much.

Speaking of the delay, the retired local added: ‘It’s crazy isn’t it.

‘Why would you go into a thing like that knowing you haven’t got enough money?

When asked if the park and ride would assist in easing congestion issues, Mr Bass said firmly ‘no.’

Local resident James, a data scientist, said: ‘It makes sense to have built it when they did, especially because of the financial climate at the time – it was only going to get potentially more expensive as time went on.

‘You would have thought that there would be something in place a little bit sooner than 2027.

‘Living here, I’m not enjoying the limbo of not knowing what the arrangement for the access road is going to be because it’s next to a busy road.’

The 30-year-old added: ‘It’s the not knowing that is a bit weird.

 AA president Edmund King told the Telegraph: ‘It’s completely crazy.

‘It’s even got electric charging bays, cycle parking, everything you need for integrated transport apart from the road to connect it. It beggars belief, what could they use it for? A film set, a skateboard park?

‘Could they let learners in there learn how to park? These things need to be joined up.

‘The problem is they’ve invested the money and now if they have to wait two years to get the road access, it still needs to be maintained or else it will become totally overgrown.

‘It’s a waste of resources either way. It’s a shame that the planning here has been totally bungled and it’s going to lie derelict.’

The proposed changes, which were submitted last September, now need to be approved by funders Homes England and the DfT before work can start.

Oxfordshire County Council said it was unable to share a delivery timeline until the conclusion of these discussions.

A spokesperson said: ‘The council decided to go ahead with the Eynsham park and ride scheme which was funded by a ring-fenced and non-indexed grant award and had obtained all the relevant consents and approvals to allow it to proceed to construction. 

‘Any delays to the park and ride construction would have caused inflationary pressures to impact its affordability.

‘Going ahead with construction of the park and ride site has saved millions of pounds in inflation and construction costs. This was a conscious decision, taken at a time when costs were rising rapidly across all industries.’

Construction of the park and ride started in December 2022 and was completed on time and in budget in January, apart from landscaping.

The council estimates the park and ride has the capacity to cut up to a third of the peak traffic travelling in each direction.