A park and ride that set a council back £32million has remained unused two years on – because it is still not connected to a road.
The 850-space car park in Eynsham – off the A40 – was completed in January 2024.
However, locals have complained about it staying shut while cash-strapped Oxfordshire County Council finds the money to build the road in and out.
Plans for the facility had included a new roundabout to make it easy to access from either direction.
But aerial photographs taken this week show the site remains unoccupied – with the first buses and cars not expected to move until 2027.
Oxfordshire County Council has confirmed that although construction is complete, it won’t be in operation until the start of next year.
In September it was revealed that the council was spending £9,531.50 on taxpayers’ funds every month in security costs, lighting and fencing.
A further £19m was allocated for the park and ride to Wolvercote route, taking the total cost up to £51m.
A park and ride (pictured) that set a council back £32million has remained unused two years on – because it is still not connected to a road
Aerial photographs taken this week show the site remains unoccupied – with the first buses and cars not expected to move until 2027
Former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson, who lives in nearby Chipping Norton, said previously: ‘Near to where I live, the local council, which gets a quarter of its cash from the Government, decided to spend £51m on a new park and ride facility next to the busy A40.
‘It was completed last year, and it’s very snazzy with 850 spaces, charging points for electrical cars, and attractive spaces where commuters can shelter from the rain.
‘Lovely. Apart from one small thing. It’s not connected to the road network.
‘Seriously, there’s no way anyone can access it, so it’s sitting there now, a gigantic blot on the landscape, and it cannot be used for parking or riding because neither a bus nor a car can get into it.’
Oxfordshire County Council has said the Eynsham park and ride will be a ‘wonderful asset once it is in operation’ – and it will ‘give people more travel choices on a very busy route between Oxford and Witney’.
A spokesman added: ‘Construction and landscaping is complete, but the site can’t start operating until the connection to the A40 is in place.
‘The first phase of the separate A40 improvements scheme will provide the connection needed to enable the park and ride to be used by early 2027, subject to planning.’
The park and ride and connected A40 improvements were originally planned to be delivered together, however in late 2022 cost pressures driven by high inflation affected the council’s ability to deliver the wider improvements programme within the available budget.
Oxfordshire County Council has said the Eynsham park and ride will be a ‘wonderful asset once it is in operation’
To avoid further cost inflation, the council said it chose not to delay construction of the park and ride, which had a ring-fenced budget separate from the improvements programme.
It said funding had now been secured from Homes England for the A40 Eynsham Park and Ride to Wolvercote scheme, which will connect the site to the A40, provide new bus lanes and improve active travel infrastructure.
The council park and ride construction itself has cost £32million. This came from the £51million allocated for the Science Transit (ST2) scheme that included the park and ride and the eastbound bus lane, and is funded from a variety of sources.
All major construction work at the park and ride, which will include cycle parking and electric vehicle charging points, was then completed in January 2024.
Oxfordshire County Council has previously claimed the facility has the capacity to cut up to a third of the peak traffic travelling in each direction on the heavily congested A40 between Witney and Oxford.
