20mph through centre of Banbury
06/11/2025
A decision on the change will be made next week
A 20mph limit looks set to be introduced through the centre of Banbury, if approval is given next week.
The move has been welcomed by two ward councillors, Dr Isabel Creed and Mark Cherry, who are also pushing for improvements and upgrades to the crossing by St Mary’s Church following a fatal collision there in 2023.
But over 80 percent of those responding to a consultation on the speed reduction were against the idea.
Oxfordshire’s Highways Chief, Councillor Andrew Gant, will have the final say on the scheme at a meeting next week.
The proposed 20mph zone would run from Cooper’s Gate (north of St Mary’s School) on the Southam Road as far as Old Parr Road, shortly before the Horton General Hospital.
Amongst those objecting to the scheme concerns focussed on the lack of need for the proposed 20mph limit, increased congestion and pollution and an adverse impact on bus services. Others noted a lack of enforcement and the proposals being a waste of public funding which would be better directed to other areas, including improved road maintenance.
The officers report to Councillor Gant focused on why they felt some of these issues were irrelevant: “The authority considers objections along the lines of it being unjustified, anti-car, a waste of money, not enforceable or pointless do not warrant amendments to a proposal.
“As such the authority has not addressed any specific comments made of this nature in this report, taking account of the established safety benefits of 20mph speed limits”.
Councillor Cherry is hoping the scheme will be given the go-ahead as the first step in a number of safety improvements. He has also requested North Bar Street and Horse Fair be considered for surface treatment work in the future.
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
Reader's opinions
Leave a Reply
Anthony harris On 06/11/2025 at 3:22 pm
If the justification is one death, then the exact relationship to speed and the circumstances have to be explained otherwise you are using an emotional motive only. There are plenty of foot crossing throughout the proposed area for pedestrians. I for one am against the proposal and previously stated so on a survey conducted by Victoria prentice. We do not want the start of what become a revenue making exercise for the council.