Oxford businesses are calling for the introduction of traffic filters to be postponed after a delay to the reopening of Botley Road created uncertainty around the city’s transport plans.
The traffic filter trial was scheduled to begin on 14 September, following the planned reopening of Botley Road at the end of August.
Read more: End date confirmed for Oxford congestion charge ahead of traffic filters introduction
However, Network Rail has now confirmed that the road will remain closed for a further four to six weeks while SGN completes replacement work on part of the gas network beneath the road.
The delay means the planned start date for traffic filters — as well as the end of the temporary congestion charge — is now uncertain.
Oxford Business Action Group (OBAG) has urged Oxfordshire County Council to postpone the introduction of the scheme to avoid adding further pressure on independent businesses.
Bernadette Evans, spokesperson for OBAG, said businesses had already suffered from being cut off from customers during the long-running Botley Road closure.
She said:
“Given these new delays in opening Botley Road, business owners call on the county council to postpone the introduction of the traffic filters so that shops and restaurants can benefit from the pre-Christmas trade.”
She warned that introducing the scheme without allowing businesses time to recover could coincide with a crucial trading period.
Bernadette added:
“Without a delay, we’ll see them introduced at exactly the time we’d be hoping for a seasonal boost in customers.”
She also criticised what she described as a lack of recognition of the impact on small independent businesses.
The traffic filter trial, which would restrict through traffic on selected roads and use enforcement cameras with fines for non-compliance, had been linked to the reopening of Botley Road.
However, Oxfordshire County Council said it cannot confirm a new start date until Network Rail confirms when the road will reopen.
Councillor Gareth Epps, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said:
“As Network Rail has not released a revised opening date for Botley Road, we currently cannot say when our traffic filter trial will start and the temporary congestion charge will end.”
“We will make an announcement in due course, once we can be certain about the reopening.”
The latest delay means both the railway improvement works and Oxford’s wider transport plans remain uncertain as the city approaches the autumn.
Reporting contribution by Isabella Harris, Local Democracy Reporter (LDR) for Oxfordshire, covering local politics, council meetings and planning decisions across six councils in the county.
