SWATHES of land could be bought by the county council for major road projects.

Oxfordshire County Council is today set to approve powers for a series of compulsory purchase orders for land across Oxfordshire.

The move is aimed at speeding up the sale of land needed for projects such as the Chilton Interchange, the Featherbed and Steventon lights, the Harwell Link Road and the Ducklington Lane improvements in Witney.

While there is no guarantee the powers will be used once granted, it is hoped they will give the council more leverage in negotiations with landowners.

If approved by the council’s cabinet, the powers will be delegated to Sue Scane, the council’s director for environment and economy.

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She will be required to consult with cabinet member and councillor David Nimmo Smith on any purchases using these powers.

Mr Nimmo Smith said the purchase orders would give council officers “more flexibility” in their negotiations for vital land.

He said: “It is not an ideal situation and we hope we do not have to use these powers, but this gives us more flexibility in our discussions.

“We will have to make decisions fairly soon however, because holding up these works is not an option.” In a case when they are used, landowners would be issued with notice but could object and force a public inquiry.

In a report to cabinet members, Ms Scane wrote: “The ability to use compulsory purchase order powers should help support the land negotiations and provide a greater confidence in achieving earlier agreements without having to resort to actually having to use these compulsory purchase order powers.

“This should reduce land negotiations costs. In the event objections are received from the landowners involved, there may be a need for a public inquiry.

“This is likely to be an infrequent requirement, but may be necessary in a number of instances and will require increased staff and legal costs.”

If a public inquiry was held over land needed to build new north-facing slip roads to the A34 at Chilton, she said, the council would play a supporting role under the Highways Agency. The cabinet will meet at 2pm today in County Hall, New Road, Oxford. The public may attend.


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