A TOTAL of 14 small improvements, costing over a million pounds, have been made to Oxford to benefit visitors to the city centre.

Oxfordshire County Council has announced it has recently completed the programme of 14 construction projects.

There is now increased capacity and services for public transport in the city, which it is hoped will have a positive impact on air quality.

Funding for the project came from the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP).

See also: Warning over scammers pretending to be police officers

Yvonne Constance, the county council’s cabinet member for the environment, said: “While it is usually the large building schemes that grab the attention, in this instance a series of smaller projects have added up to improve the situation in Oxford city centre, helping to cut traffic delays and congestion.

“I am sure that people who rely on the buses will appreciate the extra bus stops, the improvements to the existing ones, and the reduced delays.

“Cyclists and pedestrians too will benefit from increased safety measures and the positive impact the measures as a whole will have on air quality.

“I thank the dedicated staff who completed this work despite the additional challenges they faced due to lockdown.”

%image('12155359', type='article-full', caption='Yvonne Constance, Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet member for environment. Picture: Jon Lewis', alt='Yvonne Constance, Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet member for environment. Picture: Jon Lewis')

Under the Oxford City Public Transport Improvements Scheme, there will be increased services to the Westgate and reduced congestion by creating additional bus layover space.

The county council hopes that the changes will boost the Covid-19 economic recovery for the city.

OxLEP secured £1.3 million of funding for the project from the Government’s Local Growth Fund.

Read more: Controlled parking zones approved for Cowley

Nigel Tipple chief executive of OxLEP, said: “The completion of such a significant project – that will have a positive impact on our business community and indeed infrastructure in Oxford – is excellent news, particularly in a post-Covid-19 economy.

“As the local enterprise partnership for Oxfordshire, we will continue to play a vitally important role for the county moving forward, securing investment that enables new opportunities that benefit the county’s businesses for many years to come.

“Oxfordshire has significant ambitions, including the aim of becoming a top-three global innovation ecosystem by 2040 through the county’s local industrial strategy and this Local Growth Fund project will support these aspirations.”

See more: Garage has new owner after recovering from cancer

Projects included: the removal of traffic signals; changes to pedestrian crossings; creating a tourist coach stop; improvements for cyclists; the digitisation of bus gate enforcement; additional bus stops and improvements to existing bus stops; the relocation of taxi ranks; improvements to real time bus passenger information, and changes to traffic signals.

In total, OxLEP currently oversees a £2.2 billion growth programme for the county.