PLANS to pedestrianise large parts of the centre of Oxford have stalled, The Oxford Times can reveal.

Oxfordshire County Council had hoped Queen Street would be free of buses this year with much of the rest of the city centre pedestrianised by 2014.

But the plan, part of the county council’s Transform Oxford project, has now been put on hold.

County Hall has admitted that although the scheme "remains on its radar" it is unlikely to happen in the next decade.

The scheme, a casualty of the council's spending cuts, also included removing vehicles from George Street, Magdalen Street and Broad Street.

The council's cabinet member for infrastructure, Ian Hudspeth, said due to financial pressures the scheme could not be funded in the near future.

But he added: "The aspiration is still there and when funds are available we will continue with improvements to the city centre."

Early phases of the pedestrianisation project were completed in late 2009, when bus stops were moved from Queen Street into St Aldates, Castle Street and New Road.

Pavements were widened and new benches and cycle racks were added.

At that time, Queen Street was expected to be fully pedestrianised by as early as some point this year.

The council defended the lack of progress on elements of Transform Oxford, saying the decision to pedestrianise the city centre was taken in a "different financial era".

Council spokesman Paul Smith said elements of Transform Oxford had already been implemented.

He added: "We have already delivered major improvements to the environment on Queen Street. Plans to introduce joint ticketing across bus companies — something that was always a central part of Transform Oxford — remain on track.

He said the council had funding for design work at Frideswide Square, another central component of Transform Oxford, but money to actually carry out the scheme was not in place.

County council spokesman Mr Smith added: "The aims and aspirations of Transform Oxford remain very important and firmly lodged in the county council's thoughts."

Along with the redevelopment of the Westgate Centre, which has also suffered delays, the pedestrianisation of the city centre was seen as a major element of attempts to boost trade in Oxford.

But business leader Graham Jones, of campaign group Rox, said he was confident that delaying the pedestrianisation plans would not dent city centre trade.

“Queen Street used to be a nightmare but there has been a big improvement," he said. “Compared to the delay to the Westgate redevelopment, this is a minor setback.”

City council leader Bob Price said he was disappointed that city centre improvements had been delayed.

He said: “This makes it less likely we can transform the centre into a pedestrian and cycle-friendly environment.”

Corrine Grimley Evans, of the Oxford Pedestrians’Association, said she was also disappointed by the news.

“We had been promised that the long-term plan was to get all the buses out of Queen Street," she said.

“It would give security to shoppers. They would not have to worry about buses creeping up behind them."