HOPES for a new pedestrian crossing in Rose Hill appear to have been dashed after Oxfordshire County Council said it could not afford the work.

Rose Hill Tenants and Residents Association had been calling on the local authority to install traffic lights at the junction of Ashhurst Way and Rose Hill for years.

But the estate's county councillor Gill Sanders said it appeared there was little prospect of the work happening.

Mrs Sanders said she had been told the county council, which is responsible for most roads in Oxfordshire, did not have the money.

She said: "I contacted officers about the possibility of having something put in there and they said they were looking at a cost of £80,000.

"That sort of money is just not there for a controlled junction, it is as simple as that.

"The cost of putting the lights in would be prohibitive.

"I would like to have a controlled junction there and I would like to have a pedestrian crossing in Sandy Lane West but even just a pedestrian crossing costs £30,000."

A group of residents in Oxford Road, Littlemore, have been petitioning the county council recently to try and provide a more affordable solution to their traffic woes.

But Mrs Sanders said she did not believe there was a similar solution available in Rose Hill.

She said: "I honestly do not think there is any alternative.

"If there was a huge building project going on nearby we could get Community Infrastructure Levy money to install a controlled crossing, but there is nothing going on at the moment.

"It is a sad thing really because there is no money to do any of the things we really want to do."

In February resurfacing work in Nowell Road in Rose Hill was welcomed by the Tenants and Residents Association.

Chairman Terry Kirkby said the committee was hopeful the work would be followed by a controlled crossing at the Ashhurst Way junction.

He said: "We sincerely hope that the one major project to still to be carried out- traffic lights at the Ashhurst Way and Rose Hill junction- be implemented as a matter of urgency."

Traffic is often heavy at the junction and can lead to cars backing up Ashhurst Way at peak times as they try to leave the estate.

The road also leads to Rose Hill Primary School and the estate's community centre.

Oxford City Councillor for Rose Hill Ed Turner said: "A number of people have expressed frustration at their inability to get out of Rose Hill at busy times.

"In any other part of the world the answer would be traffic lights and this should be looked at.

"In terms of funding there is a lot of talk about getting government funding for major road schemes like the work on the roundabouts in North Oxford.

"If there is money for that there is surely enough money to look at something like this."