The contractor working to connect sewers for the new North Abingdon housing had a permit to carry out roadworks on Oxford Road from 28 April to 17 September 2025. However, progress has stalled once again.
The delay follows the discovery of an uncharted water main, which now requires a further redesign in coordination with Thames Water. This comes after an earlier redesign caused the project to be postponed to this summer.
In response, Oxfordshire County Council has cancelled the permit and told the developer to clear the site and return with a revised plan. As a result, it now appears that the works at the Oxford Road roundabout will not be completed any time soon — though this does not affect the A34 interchange, only the Oxford Road and roundabout.
The County Council told the contractor to fully open the road by 23 June. As this deadline has not been met (see picture from today – 25 June 2025), overrun penalties now apply:
* £5,000 per day for the first three days
* £10,000 per day thereafter
The County Council has pointed out that the work has broken some of the agreed rules of the permit, including:
* No one was on site to manage traffic by hand when needed
* Work was done outside the allowed hours
* A safe temporary crossing for pedestrians wasn’t provided
* There were long periods with no work happening and no explanation given
The Council has made it clear that while essential infrastructure work is supported, it must be done responsibly, transparently, and to a high standard.
County and Town Councillors and Highways Officers have played a role in pressing for a new plan for the works and fully opening the road.
What is the point of charging such a stiff penalty ? If the hold up was unforeseen then fining them is not helpful. I don’t imagine they want to hang about any longer than necessary so will not be working slowly on purpose.
As I read it the fine is not for the initial delay which, as you say was due to unforeseen problems, but for failure to comply with the Council’s requirements for interim measures – and with the prescribed methods of working so as to ensure public safety. I am pleased to see them holding contractors to account for failures of this kind.
They should be fined for the breaches – especially taking excess time without doing anything and failing to provide a pedestrian crossing.