The Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP) has announced the start of works on a new Government-funded project, set to boost healthier and greener forms of travel in two of the county’s major towns.
Cyclists, pedestrians and residents in Bicester and Witney (town centre pictured above) are set to benefit from a £1.4million Local Growth Fund-supported project which will lead to an improvement in active travel options.
The new measures are either permanent or have the scope to become permanent. The schemes have involved full consultation with residents, businesses and other stakeholders from across the Bicester and Witney areas.
Thanks to consultation responses, in January and February this year, final scheme designs received the green light from Oxfordshire County Council.
The two schemes are designed to reallocate road space to cyclists and pedestrians, and create an environment that is safer for walking and cycling. Residents will also continue to benefit from reduced levels of air pollution.
OxLEP secured £1.4million-worth of investment for the project via the Government’s Local Growth Fund. The overall cost of the project is £1.7million.
Bicester to benefit
Bicester will benefit from active travel investment with a focus on increasing cycle journeys. The Bicester Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) sets out an ambitious target of doubling sustainable transport, at a minimum, from around 15,000 to 30,000 trips a day within the town.
This equates to a daily increase from around 3,000 to 9,000 bike trips a day and 18,000 to 24,000 walking trips a day. It is based on the development and delivery of a comprehensive network of cycle routes across the town by 2031, in tandem with development allocated within the local plan.
A detailed household survey showed that in Bicester, 50 per cent of local car trips were easily replaced by cycling and 25 per cent of car trips by walking.
The scheme incorporates the eastern end of Middleton Stoney Road. This corridor scheme will capture flows from the expanding south and west of Bicester and provide connectivity into the town centre through the central corridor (Oxford Road/Kings End) and Causeway. The scheme will be complemented by off-road pedestrian and cycle facilities and reduced traffic speeds, creating a safe and attractive environment for those who might have previously driven or taken the bus into town.
Good news for Witney
Sustainable travel by walking and cycling will be the core focus for the proposed scheme in Witney.
An active travel corridor for the town will be implemented to follow the most commonly-used cycle route through Witney and connect to the national cycle route 57 and the main Witney-to-Oxford cycle route via the A40.
This corridor incorporates many aspects of the east Witney cycle strategy.
This scheme will improve sustainable connections across a central corridor in Witney and allow safer pedestrian and cycle journeys, while encouraging a shift away from car journeys. This scheme will have far reaching benefits beyond the immediate corridor. It will combine proposed improvements with secured walking and cycling measures in western Witney that together provide a continuous east-west route across the whole town.
OxLEP is one of 38 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in England playing a key role in driving forward economic growth and – by 2021 – it’s expected that central Government will have invested over £12bn into the UK economy via the Local Growth Fund.
The Local Growth Fund investment aims to allow LEPs to use their local knowledge to promote growth in their individual regions.
Analysis has shown that for every £1 of Local Growth Fund invested, £4.81 in benefits could be generated.
Since its inception in 2011, OxLEP – with its partners – has secured around £660m-worth of government funding for Oxfordshire, which has seen more than 48,000 new jobs created in the county between 2012 and 2018.
In total, OxLEP currently oversees a £2.2bn growth programme for the county.
Nigel Tipple – OxLEP Chief Executive – said: “We are delighted to learn that work has started on this scheme, benefitting both businesses and residents alike, as well as supporting a shift towards cleaner travel.
“As the Local Enterprise Partnership for Oxfordshire, we continue to play a vitally important role moving forward, securing investment that enables and unlocks new opportunities for our many businesses and communities right across the county.”
