Exciting times

The county council is committed to this excellent regeneration project and it is pleasing to see it getting the coverage it deserves. I would, however, like to clarify a few points in your article, particularly the references to transport changes.

Firstly, the city and county councils have agreed that Queen Street should be pedestrianised, and have identified some possible ways of achieving this. However, no decision has been taken yet as to how this will be accomplished Secondly, no scheme for Frideswide Square has yet been finalised. We have looked at some possibilities but there is much more work to do before a design is agreed.

Thirdly, we agree that scheduled coaches such as the London and airport coaches are a superb asset to Oxford, but do (like all motorised traffic) have negative impacts on some streets in the city centre. We will be reviewing how these coaches serve the city, but this work is only just starting.

The Area Action Plan for the West End will be submitted to the Government by the city council in June, at which time the plan will be available on the city council's website www.oxford.gov.uk and a public consultation on the plan will start.

Over the coming years, the city and county councils will be working closely together on these matters, along with the city's bus operators and with other local partners. These are exciting times for Oxford, but we should not underestimate the amount of work left to do to ensure the West End develops into a place the people of Oxford can be proud of.

Peter Mann , Assistant head of transport, Oxfordshire County Council