NEW funding will see Oxfordshire become home to one of the first Garden Villages in the country.

Central government has announced that it will help deliver more than 2,000 homes off the A40 to the north of Eynsham by 2031.

James Mills, leader of West Oxfordshire District Council, said the Garden Village would create much needed homes.

He added: “It will also unlock funds to improve infrastructure and, in particular, boost the case for improvements to transport links, including upgrading the A40 – good news for everyone using this route.

“In addition to village facilities, such as a school and community resources, the settlement would have a science/business park. This will lead to the creation of highly-valued and highly-skilled jobs reducing the district’s reliance on jobs in Oxford.”

Garden Villages are not an extension of existing towns or villages. They are intended to be settlements in their own right and are encouraged to develop their own community and identity.

The new villages, 14 of which across England have been given backing by the Department for Communities and Local Government today, will have access to a £6 million fund over the next two financial years.

Central government's announcement of funding follows the council’s submission of an ‘expression of interest’ to the government in July 2016.

West Oxfordshire's Garden Village will become the third garden settlement in the county, following successful bids for Garden Town status in Bicester and Didcot.