The approval of an expansion to Bicester Village is sure to worry some residents in the town following the congestion experienced by many in recent years.

At a meeting last Thursday, Cherwell District Council’s planning committee approved the demolition of the Tesco store and petrol station in Pringle Drive to make way for 28 new shops.

Although some may fear the additional traffic that an expansion could bring, the plans also include a revised number of parking spaces, 147 more than the original plans, bringing the total to 519.

And so residents in the town can be reassured that attempts are being made to tackle the previous congestion experienced on popular retail holidays.

Few people caught in the jams on Black Friday last year, when retailers slashed their prices before Christmas on the last Friday in November, will want a repeat of that traffic chaos.

It would not be unfair for some residents to still have concerns and need more convincing that this expansion will be for better, rather than worse.

More shoppers and any additional congestion need to be accounted for and monitored by both Bicester Village and the local council to ensure it can be kept under control.

But the expansion plans are just one scheme among many currently on the drawing board for Bicester Village, including the new shopping centre entrance being built at Bicester Town Station- soon to be renamed Bicester Village station - as well as construction of a new £3.5m park-and-ride being funded by Bicester Village to offer 580 parking spaces.

Although some local traders will raise concerns, it cannot be argued that the various plans currently in place are at the very least attempting to address congestion in the town and to encourage cars off the road via train travel or park-and-ride buses.

Let’s hope that throughout the expansion of Bicester Village, traffic alleviation schemes are at the forefront of any design plans to give residents the confidence that any new shops will not lead to new problems.