Cllr Liam Walker has criticised further delays to the A40 Eynsham Park & Ride to Wolvercote project after Oxfordshire County Council confirmed the Park & Ride is now not expected to open until early summer 2028, with the wider scheme not due to be completed until summer 2029.
Oxfordshire County Council has announced its latest timetable for the £126 million project, which is intended to connect the currently closed Eynsham Park & Ride to the A40, deliver new bus lanes and make improvements to walking and cycling infrastructure.
The council says preparatory work, including vegetation clearance, ecological mitigation and utility diversions, is underway. Enabling works are currently expected to begin in autumn 2026, with main construction not starting until spring 2027.
The latest timetable means the Park & Ride is not expected to open until early summer 2028, while the remainder of the project is scheduled for completion by summer 2029.
Cllr Liam Walker, Leader of the Conservative Group at Oxfordshire County Council, has criticised the latest delay and questioned the management of major infrastructure projects under the Liberal Democrat administration.
Cllr Walker said: "You really couldn’t make it up. A shovel isn’t even in the ground on the main construction work and this project has already been delayed by another year. This highlights exactly what I have been saying for years that the Lib Dems simply don’t have a clue when it comes to delivering major infrastructure projects."
"Had they not cancelled the planned A40 dual carriageway upgrades between Witney and Eynsham, we would have had access to the Park & Ride and work on the bus lanes could have been well underway. Instead, we have a brand-new Park & Ride sitting closed, taxpayers continuing to pick up the costs and residents facing years more delays. The constant redesigns, delays and changing timetables are appalling project management, yet nobody ever seems to be held accountable.
"Perhaps the most extraordinary part is that by the time they say the entire project will finally be completed in 2029, Oxfordshire County Council itself will have been abolished. What a legacy they can be proud of.”
The Eynsham Park & Ride has remained closed because it currently has no completed access from the A40. Connecting the site to the main road will now be prioritised as the first element of the wider project, according to the County Council.
Cllr Walker has repeatedly called for greater investment in the A40 corridor and for the previous proposals to dual the A40 between Witney and Eynsham to be reconsidered.
He added: "Anyone who regularly uses the A40 knows we need meaningful improvements to this road. West Oxfordshire is facing significant housing growth and we cannot continue building thousands of new homes without delivering the infrastructure needed to support them."
"We need to get the Park & Ride open, get these improvements delivered and put the Witney to Eynsham dual carriageway upgrades firmly back on the table.”
