Seacourt park and ride expansion to go ahead

A £5m expansion of a park-and-ride site in Oxford is to go ahead.

The plan, which will create 596 extra spaces at Seacourt, was given final approval at an Oxford City Council cabinet meeting on Wednesday evening.

The authority said the decision would mean fewer cars travelling into the centre of the city and the cost remained "within an acceptable range".

But Andrew Gant, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said it would make traffic problems worse.

He fears "it will certainly encourage car use on the ring road and into the periphery of Oxford".

"It is delayed. It is going up in cost. It is tying up capital for a very long time," he said.

"Park and rides are generally a good thing, but we have to think long term about this. The county council is bringing on its own scheme further out."

The plan to increase capacity of the Seacourt site, which currently has 794 spaces, was given planning permission in March 2018.

The development - partly on Oxford's flood plain and on registered green belt land - will include a building with a waiting area and toilets and is due to be completed in 2020.

"Not improving the existing park-and-ride facility would undermine the policy of discouraging the use of the private motor vehicle in the city centre," the council's report says.