With this in mind, the Parish Council investigated the possibility of reducing the speed limit through the village to make it a 20mph zone and has now received notification from Oxfordshire County Council that the consultation about this 20mph zone has been published and is available on the County Council website at https://consultations.oxfordshire.gov.uk/consult.ti/Wendlebury20mphZone/consultationHome

Roads Minister Jesse Norman has signalled the ‘death nell’ on rural communities in north Oxfordshire by announcing that the central corridor B has been chosen as the preferred route for the Oxford Cambridge Expressway.

This could potentially have a significant impact on small rural parishes along the route like Wendlebury.

Wendlebury is a small village of about 180 households located close to Junction 9 of the M40 currently ‘boxed in’ on 3 sides; the M40 to the west / south, A41 to the north and the Chiltern Oxford to London railway line to the east.

Over the years, the Parish Council has strongly argued that the studies carried out by Oxfordshire County Council and its consultants in conjunction with Cherwell District Council are unsound, and do not take into account the volume and speed of traffic on the A41 on both the south- and north-bound carriageways.  This has become even busier as a result of the growth of Bicester Village and the rapid expansion of the town with many new large housing developments.

It would appear that Highways England has made the same mistakes and not taken account of these issues and have been driven by the promise of economic growth.

Once again, the Parish Council sees that decisions are being made that will affect the lives and well-being of ordinary people in these rural communities, who will have to suffer increased damage from noise, air pollution and isolation together with a total disregard for the quality of life.

The Parish Council envisages a long fight ahead to preserve the values of the many village communities affected.

A PDF version of this is available

The village has been extremely saddened by the fatal incident by the bus stop on the A41 on Friday 10 August in which the car driver died and a pedestrian was injured.

It is vital that the community comes together to put forward solutions to make the dual carriageway crossing as safe as possible and ensure that the bus stops are kept.

There will be a public meeting in the Village Hall on Thursday 20 September at 7.30pm (before the Parish Council meeting) to discuss the issues – all are welcome to attend.

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