Update on North Abingdon Roundabout Works from County Councillor Nathan Ley

So, why does this still look like this and why isn’t the roundabout done? It’s all about sequencing, read until the end….

➜ The developer has now submitted permit applications for essential *foul drainage* and highway works near the Oxford Road/Dunmore Road roundabout

Remember, this has to be done *before* the left turn lane going up towards Lodge Hill can be finished, to save the Developer digging it all up again

The delay here is the Lawyers between Thames Water and Developers taking their time on the foul drainage part, whilst we all deal with the consequences in the mean time. Anyway…

The developer has requested to begin as early as next week, but the permits have not yet been confirmed. I’ll post again once the start date is officially signed off

➜ We’ve successfully pushed back against the Developers’ original proposal, which would have required multiple road closures and four-way temporary lights—effectively bringing North Abingdon to a standstill. Instead:

No full closures: to facilitate this the central island on Dunmore Road (where I removed the shrub from!) will be temporarily removed to maintain two-way traffic.

Only two-way temporary lights, manually controlled from 7am to 8pm to respond to peak-hour pressures. This will last for some weeks though, I’m afraid

➜ Why these works are needed:

These works are part of a wider foul water drainage strategy required to support the new housing and community developments north of Dunmore Road and Twelve Acre Drive. This includes residential, retail, education, and care facilities.

Thames Water’s Sewer Impact Study concluded that the existing foul water network couldn’t handle the additional flow from these developments without upgrades. To resolve this, three new connection points were agreed:

Connection Point 1 – Boulter Drive (already in place)

Connection Point 2 – Oxford Road (this is the one being installed now)

Connection Point 3 – Peachcroft Road/Elizabeth Avenue (serving other areas of the development – this has been the cause of the disruption the past couple of months)

➜ The works about to begin will enable Connection Point 2, which is necessary to allow the next phase of the development to be occupied and ensure that the foul drainage system functions without putting pressure on existing infrastructure.

➜ We’ve made it clear to the developer and Thames Water that these works must be delivered with as little disruption as possible—and we’ll continue monitoring progress closely alongside officers and fellow councillors.

So this is why the roundabout still looks like this. I hope that helps

Thank you for your patience and sorry to have not been more productive and quicker with all this.