PLANS for more than 17 weeks of roadworks in East Oxford that clash with other city traffic schemes, will create a roads “nightmare” that will damage business, it has been warned.

A £1.3m project to improve cyclist and pedestrian safety at The Plain will clash with phase two of work on Frideswide Square and the upgrade scheme on London Road, Headington. Workmen will move on to the site on January 5, with construction due to begin two days later.

It will include a three-week closure of part Cowley Road nothbound between Circus Street and The Plain between February and March.

There will also be closures to the entrance and exit of The Plain and St Clement’s Street and Iffley Road at various stages but commuters could face disruption until May  when all work is set to be completed. 
The work was originally due to start on October 20 but was postponed by Oxfordshire County Council due to work on Kennington roundabout, Green Road roundabout and London Road in Headington taking place at the same time. 
But now it has been claimed the clash with the Westgate and Frideswide Square redevelopments could lead to even more problems than if the project had gone ahead in October. 

Our top stories

Earlier this month the Oxford Mail reported that St Clement’s city councillor Tom Hayes was concerned by the proposed closure of Cowley Road, but the full scale of closures was not known at that stage. 
Mr Hayes said: “I am even more worried. It will make matters worse than if we had just had them in October. It is really bad planning.” 
But county council cabinet member for transport David Nimmo Smith defended the works. He said: “Frideswide Square is the other side of the city so that should minimise disruption. 
“We have a lot of work in other parts of the city so there will always have to be overlaps in certain areas but we are working to minimise that. The work has already been put back because of work we were doing at Headington.” 

Oxford Mail:

Councillor Tom Hayes at Oxford’s Cowley Road


City Council leader Bob Price, pictured below, said: “It could be a major nightmare and similar to the Worcester Street closure. 

Oxford Mail:


“We are extremely worried about the consequences that the Cowley Road closure will have for traffic flows because a three-week closure could disrupt the flow of a main artery into the city. 
“I think it is bound to affect businesses in Cowley Road on the bottom part of the road quite substantially but it could affect business all along the road.” 
Work to demolish the Westgate is also due to begin in January, with phase two of work on Frideswide Square planned to start in February. 
Phase two of Frideswide Square will see a large roundabout built at the entrance of the train station with two mini-roundabouts at the other end of the square in front of the Royal Oxford Hotel. 
Oxfordshire County Council has claimed major diversions will not be necessary due to the opening up of Becket Street and Worcester Street. 
Buses will either stop in the square or at two new bus stops located in Park End Street during the works which are expected to last until December next year. 
Cowley Road will be closed at the junction with The Plain from February 16 to March 8 and all through traffic will be diverted on to Iffley Road. 
But residents and workers will still be able to gain access. 
Mr Nimmo Smith said: “We either do not do the work or we do the work and work around it. 
“We are going to do the work to improve life for cyclists, pedestrians and everybody.” 
The works will see footpaths widened, lanes on the The Plain roundabout narrowed and some of the entrances and exits of the roundabout tightened to slow down traffic. Businessman Clinton Pugh, who runs Cafe Coco, Kazbar and Cafe Tarifa on Cowley Road said the closure and diversions were likely to damage his businesses. 
He said: “It is just too hard for people to get into Oxford as it is. 
“It will be disastrous, it is going to be even worse than it would have been before if it had been done in October. 
Doing these works at the same time will mean absolute chaos.”

Timetable for the work

January 5: Work starts but, according to the county council “physical works will not be visible on the street.” 
January 7: Work begins on the western side of The Plain roundabout. 
January 19-February 1: Closure of access from The Plain roundabout to St Clement’s Street. 
February 2-15: Closure of the exit from St Clement’s Street to The Plain roundabout. 
February 16-March 8: Closure of part of Cowley Road. 
March 9-22: Closure of access from The Plain roundabout to Iffley Road. 
March 23-April 17: Closure of the exit from Iffley Road to The Plain roundabout. 
April 18-May: Closures will end but some works will continue until May.

CLASHING ROADWORKS

January: Demolition work starts on the Westgate centre. 
January 26-April 24: Sections two to seven of the London Road, Headington roadworks. 
February: Phase two of the improvement works on Frideswide Square starts.
ONGOING: Work on a £10m hamburger roundabout at the A34 is expected to finish in October 2015

  • Do you want alerts delivered straight to your phone via our WhatsApp service? Text NEWS or SPORT or NEWS AND SPORT, depending on which services you want, and your full name to 07767 417704. Save our number into your phone’s contacts as Oxford Mail WhatsApp and ensure you have WhatsApp installed.