AN £11 million relief road has been "a long time coming" say residents and councillors who have campaigned for more than 10 years to have it built.

Championing the relief road, which will run from the Milton Road roundabout to join the junction with Lady Grove and the Abingdon Road, is deputy leader of Didcot Town Council Bill Service.

For 13 years Mr Service had campaigned for the road to be built to ease congestion along Abingdon Road and now a consultation has been launched for residents to have their say on the latest proposals.

He said: "I have been trying to get this ring road since I have been a councillor and now seeing these plans come together, it really is good news.

"I thought the exhibition yesterday[thurs [apr7] was very good but some of the residents there were quite opinionated because people who live along the Furlongs will be affected by this new road.

"But this scheme has been in the pipeline for 11 years so they knew the relief road would be coming at some point."

The proposal would complete the section from the Lady Grove junction to the A4130 at Hadden Hill, by the entrance to the Hadden Hill Golf Club.

The new road includes new roundabout junctions linking to the A4130 and Lady Grove to the north of the scheme and to the A4130 at the golf club to the south.

Proposals also include a new roundabout along the proposed route and a junction linking with Abingdon Road.

The junction will be restricted to allow left turn in and left turn out of Abingdon Road to help reduce any further 'rat-running' along Abingdon Road.

Richard Henwood, who has lived in Westwater Way for 15 years, said the road "couldn't come soon enough".

He said: "It is a rat run down Abingdon Road, there are always lots of cars and lorries and it is just terrible down there, it is very dangerous especially for children and dogs.

"This will be tremendous."

Samantha Tharme, from Oxfordshire County Council, said Didcot's garden town status could help attract funding overall from infrastructure projects.

She added: "The county council has applied for government funding for approximately two thirds of the scheme costs.

"The remainder is expected to come from developer contributions from new housing sites, Didcot North East and Lady Grove East, in the area."

Residents are encouraged to send their comments to the county council before the consultation closes on April 30.

For more information visit: consultations.oxfordshire.gov.uk/consult.ti/DidcotNPR3/consultationHome