COVID road restrictions will be lifted for the first time in Oxfordshire, after feedback from residents.

Welch Way and the lower High Street in Witney will both be reopened to traffic in the coming days.

The closure was made as part of changes to the town centre to make social distancing easier during the ongoing pandemic.

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But West Oxfordshire District Council has now said that footfall in the lower High Street remains too low to justify the closure.

The council said businesses and shoppers ‘will now benefit from the easier access’.

Oxford Mail:

A map from last month showing all the changes to roads in Witney. Picture: WODC

James Mills, leader of West Oxfordshire District Council, said: “We have always made it clear that we will adapt these temporary measures in the light of experience.

“We have listened to residents and businesses, looked at the number of people in the lower High Street and decided to lift the restrictions. We will continue to monitor the situation and adapt accordingly.”

Changes made to the upper High Street and Market Square are still in place and the number of people coming to the town is increasing.

WODC said this justified the measures introduced to aid social distancing.