Bypass road for busy village near Banbury is not a priority in local transport plan

Priorities in the plan include several highways upgrades and traffic mitigation schemes, signal and safety improvements, bus service improvements, and work to include 20mph speed limits in residential areas among many others.

However, concerns have been raised about missing road projects and disregarding rural communities, as the council has approved its Local Transport Plan (LTP), outlining key highway projects over the next 20 years.

Farthinghoe Parish Council chair Mick Morris told members that the LTP missed a “crucial opportunity” to alleviate traffic and improve residents’ lives by making it a priority to create a bypass around the rural village to prevent problems with their notorious pinch point.

The document references an ‘A422 Farthinghoe traffic mitigation scheme’ to ease pressure on the roads through a traffic light system and other calming measures. Residents were previously told that plans for the bypass “do not stack up” and are not deliverable in the LTP period due to a lack of funding.

Cllr Ian McCord accused the administration of “lacking political will” to progress the bypass, when in other Northampton highways projects they “could manage to find the cash”.

Cllr Richard Solesbury-Timms asked: “Are you going to say to Farthinghoe you’re best off getting a lottery ticket because they’ve got more chance than us of getting the funding?”

Ward councillor for the area, Cllr Rebecca Breese, explained: “It’s important [the bypass] remains prominent in the documents because things change. In the meantime, I will pester our officers to come up with a workable plan that will ease the problems.”

Cllr Jonathan Harris also called on the council to think more broadly about the pressures faced by rural communities and villages that are “not built for traffic”.

He asserted that Farthinghoe could be switched with the names of a number of villages to the north of the area and the problems would be similar.

Cabinet member for highways and transport, Cllr Phil Larratt, said: “Officers with consulted input have been working on this plan since the summer of 2023 and I hope members will agree that it’s a good piece of work which we can all support.

“It provides direction to everything we do in the highways and transport service. I’m proud of the plan we have produced and I’m confident it will provide an effective network for investment in our local transport system for the benefit of our residents.”

The LTP will serve as a baseline for delivering priority transport and road improvement projects across West Northamptonshire until 2045.

It is the first transport plan created by the new unitary authority and will replace the former county council’s 2012 plan.

On Thursday, March 13, West Northants Council discussed the adoption of the plan at its full council meeting.

The document details a range of proposals to make public transport an attractive more accessible option, improve its active travel offering, make transport systems and infrastructure safer and improve connectivity.

The LTP was guided by cross-party councillor involvement, transport stakeholder groups and a 12-week public consultation.

The transport plan was overwhelmingly approved, with 64 members voting in favour and three abstaining.

According to the council, the LTP will be reviewed every five years after its adoption.