COWLEY residents are to get the crossing they have been calling for, nine years after it was promised.

A new zebra crossing for Oxford Road was part of the deal when flats were approved on a former builder’s yard near Clive Road.

That was in 2002. Now Oxfordshire County Council has finally got the cash, £5,576, from developer Wyatt Bros (Oxford) Ltd to carry out the work.

Since 2003 there have been two serious accidents and eight minor accidents on that stretch of road.

One minor accident involved a pedestrian.

Crescent Road resident Arthur Davis said traffic on Oxford Road made it difficult to cross.

He said: “The more houses they build in Greater Leys, the more traffic comes up Oxford Road. It gets busier and busier every year.”

Mr Davis, 81, who is treasurer of the Old Temple Cowley Residents’ Association, said residents had been campaigning for a crossing for more than a decade.

He added: “We would like one with traffic lights, but they don’t have the money.

“It’s better than nothing. It has taken all this time to happen.”

Labour county councillor for East Oxford Saj Malik said: “It should have taken six months, not eight years.”

The crossing itself, close to the Motorist Discount Centre, is now being planned and costed by highways engineers.

Council spokesman Marcus Mabberley said: “The council had been waiting for a financial contribution towards the proposed installation of a zebra crossing on Oxford Road from Wyatt Bros, the developer who constructed a number of buildings on a patch of land opposite Clive Road.

“The developer had initially agreed to pay a sum towards this proposed scheme once they had finished work on their development.

“However, upon completion of the development, the developer did not meet this agreement and did not make the financial contribution then.

“The council has only recently received this money, which has enabled the proposed scheme to progress.”

A spokesman for Wyatt Bros said the cash was paid to the county in the autumn.

He said: “There was an issue about how much it was and it took time to resolve that. There was negotiation about when it should be paid.

“Our intention was not to hold it up.”

The cash was given under section 106 legislation, designed to allow councils to demand developers contribute to roads and facilities in return for being given planning permission.