A £65,000 improvement scheme promises to ease traffic congestion in a town centre.

Engineers at the Vale of White Horse District Council believe their landscaping scheme in Abbey Close, Abingdon, will bring about an end to traffic chaos in Stert Street.

Under the scheme, Stert Street businesses would have rear access to their properties so that delivery vans would no longer clog the road.

All ten Stert Street businesses have signed up to the scheme despite an annual licensing fee of £400 per car to use space at the rear.

The council said no-one has objected to the scheme. Gordon Wilcox, the Vale's principal engineer, said: "The council owns this land. We are building gates and driveways to the backs of properties, allowing access.

"The £400 fee sounds a lot, but it's a similar cost to the multi-storey car park fee over a year. Every business is enthusiastic."

The rest of the scheme involves a £6,000 facelift to a footpath alongside Ivor Field's camera shop, which links the two parallel streets.

Work is expected to start in February and be completed by May.

Story date: Thursday 16 December

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