IT seems astonishing that an objection from a parish council could scupper an £11m scheme for new slip roads at the Chilton interchange on the A34.

New slip roads at Chilton would take the pressure off the busy Milton interchange, near Didcot, and make the congested dual carriageway run more smoothly.

But Chilton Parish Council is a statutory consultee and is making its voice heard as part of the democratic process.

As a result, the council’s concerns about the effects of the new slip roads on the village are now being heard loud and clear.

But the reservations appear to have prompted the need for a public inquiry, a costly and potentially lengthy exercise in itself.

Transport bosses have deemed the slip roads a necessary measure to assist staff working at Milton Park and Harwell Oxford campus, but their needs don’t necessarily match those of villagers who are understandably concerned about the effect of the new proposals on the village itself.

The March 2015 deadline for spending the funding is fast approaching so it appears that the scheme, backed by Oxfordshire County Council and the Department for Transport, could now be in doubt.

The parish council’s view is that the £11m scheme is a waste of money, but the result of the objection could be that the money ends up being lost completely.