City traffic filters postponed by Botley Road delay

Botley Road in Oxford has been closed to vehicles since April 2023

A council has postponed a major trial for Oxford just over a week after it was confirmed a key road into the city would not reopen in October as planned.

Oxfordshire County Council said it was "deeply dissatisfied and frustrated" at the need to delay a trial for new traffic filters from November.

On 11 July, Network Rail said Botley Road would not reopen as planned because of "high complex" pipework. It has yet to confirm a new date.

The council said it needed Network Rail and the Department for Transport to confirm when work would finish before the initial six-month trial can start.

Botley Road was closed for six months as part of a £161m Network Rail project to expand Oxford station and improve services in April 2023.

But a planned break in construction was cancelled and the reopening of the road was pushed back to October 2024.

A council spokesperson said: "Residents and businesses have shown incredible patience with more than a year of disruption to their lives because of Network Rail’s project.

"While the road remains closed, the council will continue to do all it can to work with partners to minimise the impact on the rest of the road network."

Network Rail apologised for the delays - but has been heavily criticised.

Last week, Layla Moran, Oxford West and Abingdon's MP, said it had shown "utterly shambolic project management from start to finish".