Plans were announced earlier this month to construct a Strategic Rail Freight Interchange at Ardley. The site proposed by Oxfordshire Railfreight Ltd would be situated on the side of the Chiltern Mainline, on land to the east of Heyford Park and west of the B430 (opposite the Viridor ERF facility). You can find out more about the plans on the developers’ website.
The proposals are currently at an early stage and the developers have submitted a Scoping Report as part of the pre-application process. Such a development is classed as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project and so would not follow the ordinary planning application process. You can find more information about the proposal and the application process in general on the National Infrastructure Planning website here.
I have had useful meetings with local parish councils as well as the district and county council about the plans. I cannot see that this is a suitable location for such a development, but will wait to see what mitigation measures are proposed. In the meantime, I am very interested to hear people’s thoughts on the project so please do share them with me by emailing: victoria.prentis.mp@parliament.uk.