Controversial bridge scheme funding decision due

The council will consider an increase of the project budget in the capital programme for the Oxpens River Bridge

A council is due to make a decision about how much to spend on a controversial bridge in Oxford.

During a cabinet meeting later, the city council will consider a report that proposes increasing the project budget for the Oxpens River Bridge.

The scheme, which is now estimated to cost £14m, rather than £10.3m, would link Grandpont Nature Park to Oxpens Meadow, to provide a walking and cycling route between planned developments.

Campaign group Friends of Grandpont Nature Park said the bridge would be an act of "ecological vandalism and blatant misuse of public funds".

The group also said the path between Osney Mead and the new bridge was not fully floodproofed, and that people would have to cross a section of the towpath under the rail bridge which is known to flood regularly.

It launched a judicial review after plans for the bridge were approved last year but it was dismissed by the High Court in March.

The group has submitted an appeal and is waiting to hear whether it can proceed.

The city council said the increase in cost was due to the inflation of construction costs, caused by the delay from the judicial review.

The local authority said in a recent report the bridge would now cost an extra £3.7m due to the legal delays and increasing construction costs.

A spokesperson for the group described it as "an incredible" amount of public money and said the structure would be "wrecking the only woodland on the main path through Grandpont Nature Park in the process".

Construction works on the bridge is to begin in early 2026 and the city council is aiming for completion by February 2027.