THE VILLAGE

West Hagbourne is a small village in South Oxfordshire located about two miles south of the expanding town of Didcot. The village is separated from the southern edge of the town by open farmland which until recently has been protected from development by the planners. To see a map showing exactly where we are click the Multimap link opposite.

West Hagbourne is a rural village with several active farms in or around the village. It has its share of attractive old buildings, several of which are listed. At the heart of the village is a conservation area and a village pond. The links opposite should demonstrate something of the flavour of life in the village. Please have a look at our attractive village. Click here to see pictures of village scenes taken by local photographers and click here for information about the various active village organisations.

THE FUTURE

There are current proposals for more than 3,000 new homes to be built at Great Western Park to the west and southwest of Didcot which will bring the town nearer. Many village people fear that West Hagbourne could be swamped before long by a further march southwards of new housing, and this could happen if a further 5,000 new homes proposed by the South East England Regional Assembley are built south of Didcot. The district council has not yet decided where these houses will go but siting them to the south of Didcot is vigorously opposed by the parish council.

Traffic is thought by some people to be a problem too. Certainly through traffic to and from Didcot has been increasing and when the proposed new housing in Didcot goes ahead the increase is likely to be greater. The parish council has been pushing for a bypass for the village for some time and at long last the county council's traffic consultants have proposed such a road to serve as a bypass for West Hagbourne and Harwell. They have also suggested a southern ring road for Didcot. These roads would remove much of the through traffic from the village thereby changing its character considerably. As long as these new roads do not pass too close to the northern boundary of the village their desirability is not questionable. For more thoughts on this see The expansion of Didcot. Click here to see an indicative map showing the route of the West Hagbourne and Harwell bypass and the southern ring road .

So the future of the village may not be certain in the context of an expanding Didcot but at the moment it is a pleasant and friendly place to live. Even if Didcot's houses come closer we are sure West Hagbourne will still be the pleasant and friendly village it has always been!