Almost £20m in funding intended for rail improvements in Oxford will be directed towards the Cowley Branch Line, while proposals for stations serving Wantage and Grove remain without confirmed finance.
Oxfordshire County Council, Vale of White Horse District Council and South Oxfordshire District Council have responded to the allocation after additional money from Oxfordshire’s two Enterprise Zones was set aside for the city scheme.
Their intervention followed complaints that too much investment was being concentrated in Oxford rather than communities elsewhere in the county.
The Enterprise Zones were created across the UK in 2012 to assist businesses and stimulate economic development, including through significant reductions in business rates.
One, the Science Vale Enterprise Zone, covers Harwell Campus and Milton Park, while the other is the Didcot Growth Accelerator Enterprise Zone, which includes Milton Park and locations north of Didcot.
At a recent county council meeting, members approved £10m in business-rates revenue generated by the zones, with £5m allocated to the Cowley Branch Line.
The project is intended to provide Cowley and Littlemore with a rail journey into Oxford lasting about 10 minutes by 2029.
This decision followed the earmarking of £14.5m from the Enterprise Zones earlier in the summer as a front fund, allowing preliminary construction work on the railway project to proceed.
Andy Holding, who founded the Wantage and Grove Station Supporters Group, said the town required a new transport hub.
He also joined wider concerns about directing money generated in southern Oxfordshire towards Oxford while proposed stations in Wantage and Grove remain unfunded.
Vale of White Horse District Council leader Bethia Thomas has questioned the use of funds from the area, and Sarah James, leader of the Vale of White Horse Greens, raised the issue in July.
James said local congestion and transport difficulties would not be resolved by the Cowley scheme.
She argued that Science Vale instead required tangible progress on a station serving Wantage and Grove, which she said could reduce traffic on the A34.
County council cabinet member for environment and economy Laura Gordon clarified that the £14.5m front fund would be recovered from developer contributions and subsequently repaid to the Enterprise Zone funding pot.
She described the allocation as a loan made possible by the need to deliver infrastructure at the appropriate time.
Thomas also addressed the remaining £5m from the approved business-rates funding.
She maintained that this revenue had been intended for economic development throughout Oxfordshire and could not be returned to South Oxfordshire and the Vale because it had never been earmarked for those districts.
She noted that Oxfordshire County Council had invested heavily in planning essential transport infrastructure county-wide, enabling projects such as the Cowley Branch Line to be brought forward.
These plans were also expected to underpin wider transport improvements, including a station for Wantage and Grove.
The two district councils subsequently issued a joint statement acknowledging the importance of ensuring Enterprise Zone investment benefited local communities.
A council spokesperson said the intention was to maximise economic gains for Oxfordshire while giving priority to suitable investment opportunities in Science Vale.
Both councils also continued to back infrastructure projects capable of improving sustainable transport links for residents and businesses across their districts.
A Wantage and Grove station was described as an important strategic objective, with the councils committed to working with partners to find opportunities to advance the proposal.
The three councils were uncertain about the effect that recently announced local-government changes could have on the funding arrangements.
The district councils nevertheless believed existing commitments would be upheld.
Oxfordshire County Council said the proposed reorganisation of the county into three small unitary authorities would complicate strategic planning.
It claimed the move could undermine current work and make similar planning exercises more difficult in future.