IT MAY be a cheaper scheme, but thousands of people can only be relieved and rejoicing that the rebuilding of Frideswide Square is seemingly back on.

The current traffic set-up is a nightmare.

Granted it is hardly the easiest traffic scenario to try to manage but the most damning aspect of Frideswide Square is that it works a lot better when its traffic lights are off.

It was a bodyblow to anyone who has sat in a traffic jam on the roads feeding into the square when the Government rejected a bid for funding the then-£5m scheme.

Thankfully Oxfordshire County Council did not throw in the towel and instead its transport mandarins went away to redesign the scheme and come up with a cheaper option.

So what if there are cheaper materials being used in presumably the decorative parts of the scheme.

Let’s be fair, the current scene is hardly going to win any beauty awards.

There are still deep concerns about the narrowness of the Botley Road rail bridge and the bridges further back west but it can only be good news that we should see work starting in less than two years.

We hope never to be back to Square One.