WITNEY town centre is set to undergo a makeover in the coming weeks as two 'dangerous' sections of pavement are finally fixed.
Oxfordshire County Council will spend more than £100,000 on separate repairs in Witney Market Square and on the High Street.
The Market Square work will focus on a steep slope outside HSBC branded a 'ski jump' by residents, despite the county council saying it would fix the section back in November.
Meanwhile, tarmac will replace paving slabs on both sides of the High Street from Welch Way to Boots, with work expected to start on Monday.
Read again: 'ski jump' pavement 'will be fixed by the end of the week'
The project should take four weeks and has been welcomed by pavement campaigner Dorothy Holloway, who has dubbed the town 'Tripney' due to its 'lethal' pavements.
Mrs Holloway revealed she was pleased that the High Street would be improved, but called for the council to focus on the Market Square when the work is finished.
She said: “I’m glad they’re doing Welch Way up to Boots, but it’s not the worst bit by a long stretch.
“Witney Market Square is absolutely deadly, dastardly and dire.
“I don’t think they’ve got any choice but to do the Market Square.
“Words fail me that it’s been able to get into such a state.
“Until they’re done I’m not going away. It isn’t only me it affects, it’s a lot of people.
“One of these days someone will hurt themselves really badly, and that’s what concerns me."
Read again: 'More needs to be done' to fix town's pavements
The High Street repairs are expected to cost slightly over £90,000, with black tarmac replacing slabs from the shop front to the drain channel.
Mrs Holloway campaigned for the changes, even enlisting the help of Witney MP Robert Courts and Laura Price, county councillor for Witney South & Central.
The Minster Lovell resident broke her arm shortly after Christmas in 2015, when her mobility walker snagged on a paving slab in Witney Market Square.
Meanwhile, in September, Mrs Holloway’s husband David cut his face and tore a muscle in his arm when he fell near Smarts Fish & Chips Shop.
This has intensified her push for improvements to the Market Square, although one part that will soon be repaired is the notorious 'ski jump' pavement.
The original wall and pavement level was due to be reinstated in November, after a slope was created in a £70,000 county council project to move the traffic calming ‘table’ further down the road last summer.
But residents complained when barriers remained in place over Christmas and the county council revealed earlier this month that it was waiting for a delivery of bollards and railings.
The authority has now confirmed the delivery is expected 'at the end of January or early February' and once work begins the pavement should take a couple of days to fix.
Witney resident James Pratley witnessed elderly residents struggling with the slope before the barriers were erected.
He said: “It’s ridiculous - in November I said it would be nice for it to get finished before they switched on the Christmas lights.
“It’s still not good enough that it’s taken this long.
“I think the saying is ‘don’t hold your breath’.”
Read again: Delay continues as 'ski jump' pavement awaits more improvements
The repairs will cost approximately £16,000 and Mr Pratley previously expressed his frustration that the money was not 'better spent'.
In the original works, a section of wall was removed and the profile of the footway was changed to enable the relocation of the traffic calming table.
The table was outside The Blue Boar pub for several years, but was moved approximately 15 metres down the road so the layby at the top of the road could accommodate an extra bus.
County council spokesperson Martin Crabtree revealed the council was looking into improving the rest of the Market Square but added finding a solution was difficult.
He said: “The county council is carrying out substantial work in Witney shortly to improve pavements.
“The Market Square area is something that we are well aware of and we carry out repairs to the paving slabs as problems arise.
“In the long term we need a solution that takes into account the fact that vehicles drive over the area alongside the desire to retain paving rather than tarmac which, although possibly less attractive, would be harder wearing.”
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