£3.5m scheme approved so buses “arrive 47 seconds earlier”
08/09/2025
“If you divide £3.5m by the time saved, we don’t think that its value for money in Banbury”
Construction will start this winter on a scheme designed to make bus journeys into and out of Banbury town centre more reliable.
But one Councillor has questioned the use of £3.5m so that buses will arrive 47 seconds earlier.
Last week Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, Councillor Andrew Gant, approved the project, which includes bus priority measures and improvements to traffic signals along Cherwell Street and the area between the George Street and Bridge Street junctions.
As part of the scheme pedestrian crossings will be upgraded to benefit people walking, cycling, and wheeling to bus stops, the town centre, and Banbury Rail Station.
The total cost of the work is £3.5m with £1.2m coming from developer contributions as part of planning agreements when building is allowed.
Banbury County Councillor Kieron Mallon addressed the meeting, highlighting local opposition to the scheme and expressing his concerns over the benefits the project would deliver, in comparison to the cost.
He said: “When benchmarked against the value for money, one has to question the cost of £3.5m.
“The aim is to improve the timing of buses for a few hundred yards of Lower Cherwell Street. Current bus times along this stretch of road (according to your figures) are George Street to Bridge Street at peak time AM – 2 minutes. The peak time at PM: 1 minute 39 seconds.
“With the proposals before you, those times become AM peak: 1 minute 13 seconds – saving 47 seconds. PM peak is 1 minute 23 seconds – saving 6 seconds. …
“If you divide £3.5m by the time saved, we don’t think that its value for money in Banbury.”
A council officer told the meeting that County Councillors who hadn’t been happy with the scheme as originally proposed were now happy with the amended scheme. Previous conversations with the bus operator Stagecoach had highlighted issues in Banbury town centre and buses having to wait to get out from George Street onto Cherwell Street.
Councillor Gant felt the benefits of the scheme made the project something he could back.
Speaking after the meeting he said: “Banbury’s Cherwell Street is heavily congested, causing frequent bus delays. These improvements will make bus travel into and out of central Banbury more reliable and so more attractive.
“We have used feedback from public engagement to change the design, maintaining the number of lanes through the two junctions, while still prioritising bus movement and improving pedestrian safety with better crossings.
“When finished, these improvements will complement future upgrades planned for Banbury, like the eastern strategic cycle lane.”
Work on the scheme is expected to be completed by next summer.
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
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