We have been living in Didcot since 2010. It was a peaceful, quiet town with convenient train link to London and west of the Country. The Orchard centre back then was smaller and with less shops but was sufficient to cater daily requirements, and most importantly, finding a space in the car park was a breeze.

Things have changed since around 2017. There seems to be a sudden influx of residents and rapid addition of new housing development. Orchard centre has undergone expansion but was never able to cope with the speed of number increase of shoppers. Finding car parking space has become a more daunting task and if you were unlucky, it may take quite a few drive around before finally park your car. The worst affected area is the Broadway roundabout during normal active hours and worse still if you are driving to enter into Didcot via Hadden Hill during peak hours after work. 

We have noticed that there are quite a few more new development either under construction or in the pipeline, which will undoubtedly exacerbate the situation even further. There seems to be plans to revamping the Broadway and the shops on the street, but we have so far only seen the billboard with the promise of making Didcot a 'Garden Town'. We urge that the South Oxfordshire Council and the Didcot Town Council to consider from current residents perspective, rather than being driven by property developers. Didcot needs to have more shopping facilities, car parking spaces, and better planned and connected streets before enticing more residents.