Views on Didcot

[Girlmom2024]

Hi, we are looking to relocate to Didcot for the girls school. Anyone from Didcot or who used to live there that can help with some of my concerns.

first concern is the power station from what I have read online they were demolished but we recently visited there around 2023 and we still could see one from the window from one of the housing developments. Is that Didcot B that is still running?

Secondly, I can see Didcot also has a water treatment plant, has there been any issues with this in regards to smell or health concerns.

Thirdly, how is Didcot now I know a lot of people were not fond on it before?

We aslo considered Abingdon with a commute to Girls school but it’s out of the catchment and I wouldn’t want to move there and the girls not getting in.

Thank you in advance

Well I mean it is regularly ranked in satirical polls as one of the worst places to live in Britain.

Honestly having lived close by there I don't think it is that bad. But compared with the lot of places to live in Oxfordshire it is certainly at the lower end of the scale.

The good news ?

It's cheap.

Ugh. No. There are lots of much nicer places in Oxfordshire.

Lived in the neighbouring area for a long time.

Didcot used to have a very poor reputation out of all the towns in the area (Witney, Abingdon, Wallingford etc) and housing was definitely cheaper. I would say it's improved since the 'new' (not actually new any more) shopping centre was developed but I have no idea what the rest of the town centre is like. Has Aldi & Tesco on the way out of town toward Wallingford.

Train station is good for trains to London, the South West, Wales, north to Oxford, Birmingham etc. It's convenient for the A34... am sure there must be other good things that I don't know about 😃

Oh and yes, it's Didcot B power station still running on the approach to the town from the A34 side.

Anywhere outside Oxfordshire it would be an OK, if slightly dull, small town.

Being in Oxfordshire means there's a lot of nicer small towns within spitting distance and so Didcot gets treated a bit unfairly.

There are nicer towns in that part of Oxfordshire but well connected although the roads are very busy.

Would you consider one of the nearby villages? South Moreton etc

It's perfectly fine. I lived in Stockport before moving to Oxfordshire and never understood the hate for Didcot. Outside of Oxfordshire, it would be a perfectly average town. But given the competition, it stands out as not as nice. Also don't forget about your lovely neighbour Boris. I saw him at Didcot B&M once, of all places.

Lived nearby for 22 years now

Didcot used to be pretty bad.

The new housing estates have pulled it up - traffic can now be bad, but the town is better. Most investment around here goes there. Wantage is losing all its shops, and Didcot gaining them. Getting out (!) is easy, trains are brilliant, A34 is good. Wallingford has a waitrose 15 min away.

Didcot A power station was coal,and with the massive cooling towers. They've all gone.
Didcot B is a gas one - no cooling towers, but it does form its own clouds in the cold.

It's one of those places where there's a lot of nice places to get to relatively easily, but the town is a normal south east non-descript place. It's got what you need, with cheapish houses for the area.

BoJo isn't in Didcot - more wallingford way. Close enough you'd probably think.

Know nothing about the school - apart from a colleague who's kids left private prep. The girl went to DGS, the boy went to the Downs. That's West Berks - and a better school. No guarantee of getting in though.

Thank you all for your replies. I’m not as worried about how the town looks as I’m more focused on the schools. My only concern is the power station and the waste treatment plant and if there is anything that has occurred which can cause health issues . Maybe I am just overthinking this part.

The landfill site was in the news quite a bit last year. The smell was terrible.

Every town has a sewage works!
Oxford's is by Kassam stadium and stinks. Abingdon's is by the river and has clouds of little flies. Didcot's is tucked into an industrial estate and you don't pass it unless you work down there.
The landfill by Sutton Courtenay stinks but the houses there are expensive.
i've heard parents say if their daughter doesn't get a place at Didcot Girls, she'll have to go to Headington or HelCats, and that noone from outside catchment got in this year.
The town is changing as lots of Londoners move in. It's pretension-free and a geeky paradise with the railway centre and all the science parks.

The thing with Didcot is for a long time it was a place loads of people had heard of because of Didcot Parkway being a big station on the main GWR line, but there wasn't actually much of a town there. Abingdon is the proper local town with all the houses, shops, businesses etc, but it's somehow wound up without any rail services. Now loads of the housing developments are focused on Didcot, it's got more in the way of facilities, but you end up with a sort of weird place where the town centre is a big Sainsburys with some shops around it. It's functional but not a place that's ever going to inspire people to love it.
I'd say definitely overthinking on the powerstation and waste treatment. Everywhere has waste treatment plants - be more of a worry if they didn't! Power station, again, it's essentially just a big industrial site. Didcot's industrial bits do feel more present than in most towns, because there's a lot of industry around the railway and the town has grown because of the railway and is quite oriented along it. If you're looking for a functional modern house on a big estate with good access, the right catchment area, decent facilities, with prettier areas and a rural vibe within reach, you'll be fine.

Thank you for very much everyone. It certainly has given me more to think about