MAJOR plans to install a park and ride off the A34 at Abingdon and overhaul access have picked up pace after a council bid for £18.2m towards the project.

Oxfordshire County Council is lobbying the Government for £8.6m to build a "desperately needed" diamond junction and £9.6m for a 1,600-space car park plus 100-space lorry park at the Lodge Hill interchange.

It comes after two decades of campaigning including from Nicola Blackwood, who persuaded top dogs including former chancellor George Osborne to cough up cash for the major trunk road.

The Oxford West and Abingdon MP said: "It is important that the diamond interchange at Lodge Hill is brought forward as soon as possible, especially given recent incidents on the road.

"Investment on the A34 is now more important than ever and I will continue making this case at local and national level for urgent improvements."

Currently there is only a north access sliproad and a south exit at the interchange, which forces residents to travel through the town to the Marcham Interchange.

Abingdon Town Council leader Mike Badcock said: "The interchange is desperately needed. South Abingdon jams up all the time, especially along Drayton Road."

Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Abingdon and Oxford West, said she was "delighted" about the junction but concerned about proposed developments nearby of 800 and 200 houses.

The estates could be built on Green Belt land in North Abingdon as part to ease Oxford’s housing crisis, which she feared would counterbalance the benefits of the junction.

She said: "It could be one step forward and two back. There’s going to be so much pressure as a result of those 1,000 homes."

The council's plans, outlined in a local growth fund document, outlined hopes to source £13.3 elsewhere to match the £31.5m price tag of the project – of which phase one would be the new junction, and phase two the park and ride and freight park with facilities.

Mrs Moran said she was "completely against" the second phase because of "encroachment on the Green Belt and noise and pollution", which she feared would drag down Abingdon’s character to "become another commuter town".

Ticia Lever, spokeswoman for North Abingdon Local Plan Group, has also campaigned against the park and ride site.

The 59-year-old, who lives in Alexander Close, said: "It’s in an extremely prominent position and will be seen from a large area. There will be very bright lights continually on at night.

"With the heavy goods vehicles there will be additional noise and turning, and the overnight facilities mean it will take up so much more room."

But Mr Badcock said: "We have got to accept it’s for the greater good. Lorries have got to be looked after with proper facilities for them to stop and have a rest. If they are refreshed they will drive more safely."

The Government is set to publish a feasibility study this autumn assessing potential improvements to the A34, after it pledged £50m in 2014 to improve the major trunk road.