Workmen will lay eight different road surfaces in Bonn Square in Oxford -- so that the public can choose their favourite for Cornmarket Street.

On Sunday, October 13, contractors will repair the crumbling square with black asphalt.

Then on Monday, October 21, surfaces in eight different buff-coloured finishes will be laid before the final material is selected for Cornmarket Street.

Contractors could be ready to start laying the chosen surface on top of the asphalt in Cornmarket by March or April.

Earlier this month, temporary repairs were carried out to Cornmarket to make the street safe until work begins on a new £2.7m repaving scheme in January.

This follows last year's failed attempt to pave the street with granite blocks.

Eddie Luck, assistant director of transport development at the county council, said: "The need to repair Bonn Square will allow us to choose the best material, and give the public a chance to see what Cornmarket will look like when it is completed.

"Bonn Square needs urgent maintenance and we thought it would be an ideal opportunity to use some different top surfacings just at the point where we are selecting a range of possible materials for Cornmarket.

"There will be 100sq m of each, and we will consult various groups and the public to see which is the preferred option.

"We will also be able to see how the surfaces weather over the winter and cope with the buses that run through into Queen Street." Mr Luck said the pedestrianised area outside the entrance to the Westgate Centre and the central library would not be affected by the resurfacing work.

John Goddard, leader of the city council's Liberal Democrat group, said the busy road through Bonn Square was a "daft" location to try out surfaces for Cornmarket.

He added: "People will not have time to look at the surfaces because they will be looking over their shoulders for the buses."

Bus stops in Queen Street will be moved to St Aldate's on Sunday night.