A last-minute hitch has put a possible six-month delay on the building of a new road in Witney town centre.

County planners thought they had acquired ownership of all the land along the route of phase one of the West End Link Road, crucial to redevelopment plans in the town centre.

But, within weeks of the proposed start date, they have discovered that a very small strip directly along the route belongs to someone else.

The discovery has come as a surprise but also disappointment to the county council's executive member for transport, David Robertson, who lives in Witney.

He said: "We were assured by one particular landowner that they owned all the land which we bought from them to construct the road. But it now appears they were wrong.

"We will do everything we can to resolve it as quickly as possible, but it may require a compulsory purchase order and a delay of six months."

The new road, which will connect Burford Road with Welch Way, is a vital part of the redevelopment of the Marriotts Close town centre site. In the longer term, phase two could see the road extended via a bridge across the River Windrush to West End, providing an alternative route to the Bridge Street bottleneck.

County planners have discovered that the small strip near Dark Lane -- originally believed to have been owned by All Souls College -- was actually owned by the Earlys blanket company. The Burford Road factory closed last year and the land was assigned to EW Realisations plc, which has since gone into liquidation.

Mr Robertson said: "Attempts to contact the liquidator and buy by negotiation have been unsuccessful.

Next week's (beginning September 1) county executive is being urged to move towards compulsory purchase. If the full legal process is required, the earliest start date on the road would be March next year.

West Oxfordshire District Council cabinet leader Barry Norton said it was a setback, but added: "We have still to decide how we are to redevelop the Marriotts Close site and it will not happen before the road is in."