Residents on 'cut off' estate hold ceremony for new footpath

Residents moved in to properties in Dida Gardens in Didcot in July 2020, but the developers have never delivered connecting footpaths to local shops, schools or bus stops.

It meant people had to walk over muddy ground on a track that became a 'quagmire' in wet weather with people even having to lay down wooden boards or cardboard in winter to make it passable.

A couple with disabled children said they were forced to walk their children alongside the busy A4130 because it was the only way to reach local amenities on foot.

Rachel Jones, who uses a mobility scooter, said there was "no accessibility to even bus stops".

Chair of the residents’ association Craig Rouse described the situation as “a nightmare”.

“Since residents moved in, we’ve only had three small gaps made in enclosing fencing for us to get through," he said.

Dida Gardens was built by developer David Wilson Homes, who advertised the homes as being "within close reach of Didcot’s shopping centres and schools".

It was supposed to be connected to Great Western Park estate, which had already been constructed by Taylor Wimpey.

But Taylor Wimpey said the original planning consent for Great Western Park did not include any footpath connection and it had fulfilled its obligations.

Didcot West councillor Ian Snowdon said: “This planning permission included a travel plan which said they didn’t need to provide a bus route nor a school as these were all accessible nearby with footpaths.

"There was going to be a footpath to the east to the primary school, a footpath to the south to the shops and a footpath to the west to connect up to Great Western Park."

But none of these were delivered.

Mr Snowdon criticised the lack of enforcement action from South Oxfordshire District Council and said he had asked the cabinet member for planning Anne-Marie Simpson for an apology.

The council maintained that since two housing developments came at different times, the area in between wasn’t in Taylor Wimpey’s plan and was beyond David Wilson Homes' site boundary.

But it did concede that Taylor Wimpey’s consent required them to provide gravel paths on the western and eastern edge of the development.

Delighted residents have now decided to name the new footpath after Mr Snowdon who doggedly pursued the matter for years.

But he said he was cross it was the local press coverage that had finally got the developer to act.

He said: "It's very embarrassing but the residents association had a meeting and decided to name it after me because 48 hours after the story went live Taylor Wimpey after two years suddenly delivered the footpath."

A spokesperson for Taylor Wimpey said it had "listened to the feedback from local residents" and was now "pleased to be providing better links to facilitate access to the community facilities at the development".

Mr Rouse said it has been in constant use since it was unveiled.

"For what was really only a few hours of work, it's been a huge transformation for everybody," he said.