The 50-year relief road row that many can't bypass

"[The traffic is] really very bad indeed, and we have a continual increase - it seems to be getting heavier and heavier all the time."

The then head of Watlington Parish Council's Highways Committee Charles Maine told BBC Oxford in 1971 of the on-going campaign for a bypass to be built around the Oxfordshire market town.

More than 50 years on, the relief road is closer than ever - with Oxfordshire County Council's (OCC) plans for the route officially submitted and a public consultation set to begin.

Under the proposals, the road would provide access to the B4009 from either side of Watlington, without the need to travel through the town centre.

One Watlington resident said the lack of a ring road was "killing the town", adding the current situation was "like a war zone".

Another said: "The traffic's an issue - it's a great market town, I've lived here for 20 plus years and it's got busier tenfold so something needs to be done about it."

He added that if the relief road was not built, then it would "destroy" the town.

Currently, many motorists in south Oxfordshire have to drive directly through the town centre to reach the M40 or A34.

Judy Roberts, cabinet member for infrastructure and development strategy at OCC, said: "Its aim is to alleviate congestion, noise and air pollution in the town centre and enable future housing developments, by offering more sustainable modes of transport including cycling and walking."

The plans were originally submitted by OCC to its independent planning authority in January this year, with a decision due in May - but that date came and went.

OCC said the "priority project" had submitted some additional information at the end of October - meaning a new public consultation is set to begin.

The consultation starts on Thursday, and runs until 21 December. A final decision on the plans is then expected in early 2025.

But local traders in Watlington have previously voiced their concerns over the plans, saying it would decrease footfall in the town.

Loraine Daniels, who has been co-owner of the Bella Luce lighting shop in Watlington High Street for eight years, said earlier this year there was a "lot of concern" among shop owners in the area.

Ms Daniels said most of their business came from passing trade.

She said: "Absolutely without a doubt 90% of our customers come because of our windows."

Chris Church, of the Oxfordshire Roads Action Alliance (ORAA), said it was "hard" to understand why OCC was pressing ahead with the project which would "not deter car journeys" and "undermines" the authority's local plan.

"They would do far better, at a time when money is scarce, to spend money on fixing the dire state of so many of our pot-holed roads," Mr Church added.

The parish council in nearby Shirburn has also criticised the plans as "unnecessary", adding the new route would become a "rat run".

Back in 1971, Charles Maine said: "They [the authorities] seem to be gradually coming around to our way of thinking."

More than half a century on, it seems some people still need convincing.

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