Didcot Garden Town Newsletter - Autumn Edition
Welcome to our autumn
edition of the Didcot Garden Town newsletter


Our new offices will be built in Didcot Garden Town

Recently, South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils announced that we are planning to build our new council offices at the Gateway site in Didcot - right in the heart of the garden town.  Since then we've been contacted by our residents to ask how the offices fit into the proposals on the site.

You can see on the photo map below the layout and proposals at the Gateway site, which is situated opposite Didcot Parkway railway station.  The red areas are set to be redeveloped and our office space is outlined with the yellow line.  The whole development hopes to accommodate mixed-use buildings that offer new accommodation for residents and businesses.

There are lots of positive reasons why councillors have chosen the Gateway site. It's in the middle of the garden town, very close to public transport, near to the Vale of White Horse district border.  But perhaps most importantly, it is the most sustainable option for the future both economically and environmentally.

South and Vale are in the early stages of designs for our offices. We are working with Homes England, who are in charge of the housing site's redevelopment proposals. We hope to provide more information at the next Didcot Garden Town Advisory Board in January 2021.

You can find out more information on Homes England's housing masterplan proposals as part of their public engagement, which closed in July earlier this year. 


Residents Sounding Board - get involved!

On Monday 30 November from 5.30pm to 7pm, we will be holding our first-ever sounding board for residents and community organisations within Didcot Garden Town.

You can register to attend and participate in the virtual event, by signing up here. For those who are interested to speak at the sounding board, make sure you follow the options on the registration to opt in.

This brand-new sounding board will provide you with an opportunity to find out more information on the projects happening in the garden town, plus you'll be able to provide your advice and feedback about ongoing work to implement the Delivery Plan.

Information from this meeting will help to provide us with local expertise and 'on the ground knowledge'. The garden town team will use this vital feedback to help form reports and content for discussion at the Didcot Garden Town Advisory Board. 

Active communities

Street Tag in Didcot Garden Town. Support your local school PTA!

Want to exercise in lockdown but need some motivation? Try Street Tag!  

Run, walk or cycle your way to earn tags via the app. Tags earn you points and we know what that means - prizes!   Anyone can join - you can join your school's or community street tag in virtual teams or set it up as a family. 


The top school in each district will get £50 for their PTA and the top two teams in the community street tag can win some amazon vouchers or food hampers. Local schools including Northbourne C of E Primary School, Stephen Freeman Community Primary School, Ladygrove Park Primary School and Aureus Primary School have already signed up and already collecting points. 

Don’t delay, start tagging today! Sign up here.
Healthwatch Oxfordshire is an independent charity which listens to people who use NHS and social care services in Oxfordshire.

They want to hear from families living in the Didcot area, about what it's like for you to find and use health and social care services in Oxfordshire. What works well and what makes it difficult?

They would like residents of Didcot and surrounding villages to complete a short survey, so they can represent your views in improving health and social care in the area.

If you would like to participate, please follow this link 

As part of the project, Healthwatch Oxfordshire will also be holding a virtual drop-in event to listen to residents, next Wednesday 18 November at midday. You can find out more here.
Didcot Town Council Awards 2020

The annual awards to celebrate achievements in Didcot is set to go ahead virtually. The shortlist of nominees for each award was announced by the town council.

You can find out more about the award categories here.


Watch the Didcot Garden Town Advisory Board meeting

You can watch our most recent board meeting, which took place on 23 October.

The board members discussed the major infrastructure developments coming to the area, including the transport schemes for our garden town, an update on the new major district community centre built on Great Western Park, the potential new health centre site and feedback from the first-ever parish sounding board meeting.

You can watch the board meeting here!

Parish Councils Sounding Board

As explained above the first-ever parish council sounding board was held virtually on 22 September with eight parish councils from the Didcot Garden Town boundary and surrounding villages with Didcot Town Council. The town and parish representatives were updated on the current status of the garden town delivery programme and several projects - you can see an overview of their feedback below.

Public Art

Remembrance poppies were respectfully and beautifully displayed at St Birinus School as part of the school's commemoration to all those who served and lost their lives in the First World War.

The field of handmade poppies, pictured on the right were handmade and created by students and staff at the school. 

Science Vale Business Update

Harwell Campus


Prime Minister visits Harwell Campus to meet the team behind the UK's Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre, at the forefront of the national response to COVID-19.

Find out more!

Milton Park 


A new bridge for cyclists and pedestrians connecting Milton Park to Abingdon and Oxford has been safely moved into place as part of Milton Park's 2040 Vision.

Read more here!

Culham Science Centre


National recognition for the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) based in Culham, as it's named as a Top 100 Apprenticeships Employer for 2020.

Find out more!