MORE than 2,200 cars could drive up and down a narrow North Oxford street when a new super surgery is opened in the city centre, according to experts.

London-based travel consultant Steer Davies Gleave has estimated that 46 per cent of the patients and staff arriving at the proposed GP health centre at the Radcliffe Infirmary site will use their cars.

Its report, included in a planning application for the development, also suggests that 30 per cent of residents living in 30 new keyworker homes on the land will also use vehicles on a daily basis.

The figures have concerned members of Oxford City Council, who fear the extra traffic will lead to congestion on Walton Street where motorists will enter and exit the super surgery site.

Jean Fooks, who represents North Ward, said: "At the moment the majority of people access the RI site from the Woodstock Road side and not Walton Street, and their own predictions seem a bit alarming to be honest.

"There are definitely concerns about the proposals, and we are worried about public transport, which is mainly on the Woodstock Road side, and that's quite a long walk for some people."

Paul Sargent, councillor for Carfax Ward and chairman of the Oxford health overview and scrutiny sub-committee, said Oxford City Primary Care Trust's initial consultation had not highlighted any vehicle estimates.

He added: "They had no detailed traffic survey when they came to us. I am sure they will argue that the site already has traffic on it, but what you have to remember is that Oxford University will be developing a lot of the site as well.

"We have to make best use of the land in Oxford and reduce car use."

The super surgery, due to open in 2008, will house GPs who are in Beaumont Street, Jericho Health Centre in Walton Street, and North Oxford Medical Centre in Woodstock Road, as well as services like podiatry, X-ray and physiotherapy.

Traffic arriving at the site will park in a newly-built underground 165-space car park.

According to Steer Davies Gleave, an estimated 4,753 'trips' will be made in and out of the complex every working day between 7am and 7pm, 2,186 of which will be made in cars.

Another 201 'trips' between 7am and 7pm will be made to and from the 30 homes proposed for the site, including 60 by car.

The PCT's planning application has also been criticised by English Heritage and Oxford Civic Society, both of which are worried that a one-stop-shop approach to GP care is not appropriate.

In a letter to city planners, English Heritage team leader Nigel Barker said: "We are not convinced that the applicants have demonstrated conclusively that this one-site solution is fully justified."

Anne Miller, planning secretary for Oxford Civic Society, added: "Concentration of health services on this scale is not desirable, as local facilities should ideally be available within walking distance of patients' homes."

An Oxford City PCT spokesman said: "We are planning to do a health impact assessment in the autumn to establish how many patients and staff will use the site, and then we will tackle any planning issues after that.

"We won't be able to do any work on how to manage traffic until later in the project."

No date has yet been set for councillors to discuss the planning application for the surgery.