FAQs

We have received a grant from the UK government to invest in improving things for walking, wheeling, cycling and using buses in Witney High Street and Market Square.

The project is intended to:

• Enhance public spaces while protecting the town’s history and character
• Support local businesses and the markets
• Make it easier and more enjoyable to walk, wheel and cycle
• Upgrade access to public transport
• Improve safety for all users

Funding for this scheme has been specifically awarded to:

• Encourage walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport 
• Rationalise existing space for taxis and on-street parking
• Improve the road layouts at the junctions of High Street/Welch Way and Market Square/Corn Street to support the existing traffic restriction
• Implement public realm enhancements

The plans have been agreed with the Department for Transport to ensure they meet the agreed targets associated with the funding. Funds cannot be diverted to other items (e.g., potholes).

The aim is to enhance the High Street and Market Square as a place that people can access easily by walking, wheeling, cycling, public transport, or a short walk from one of the 1600 off-street car parking spaces in Witney town centre. We aim to enhance the street environment so people want to come, enjoy spending their time and money there and stay longer. 

Standard safety barriers and considerate working methods will be used to minimise the impact of dust and debris to passing pedestrians and nearby businesses.

The works will be carried out at permitted noise levels for certain times of the day. We are working with the West Oxfordshire District Council noise team and audio specialists to ensure that any noise is effectively managed when working at nights. The contractor Galliford Try will notify residents and businesses with exact times and dates that night works will commence. 

There will be some temporary relocations of bus stops to Langdale Gate and Welch Way while the works take place. This will allow the buses to continue running as smoothly as possible without being delayed by the works. The temporary bus stops will be signed clearly to help people find the right stop they need during the works.

If your business is on the High Street or Market Square, the Public Liaison Officer from Galliford Try will be in touch with you to discuss your access needs and ensure your essential access needs are maintained during the works. You can also contact them at witneyhighstreet@gallifordtry.co.uk 

It will be necessary to commence certain work phases during nights. This is to minimise disruption to traffic. These phases are currently scheduled to affect Corn Street/Market Square junction in early May and Welch Way/High Street junction in early September.

The contractor Galliford Try will notify residents and businesses with exact times and dates that those night works will commence. 

There is not enough money to resurface the High Street at this moment but repairs are being made where needed.

Oxfordshire County Council’s arboriculture, or tree, team has adopted the OCC policy following the ‘Right tree, right place’ approach to species selection. OCC officers will also liaise with Witney Town Council once a proposal for tree species is made. 

An informal pedestrian crossing is a type of pedestrian crossing that is generally used in a space that would benefit from having a crossing there, but a formal (controlled) pedestrian crossing would not be necessary (e.g., where there are other restrictions reducing traffic volume and speed already). Informal crossings can include:

• Dropped kerbs
• Tactile paving
• Traffic island if road width permits
• A 'raised table' across a road or a pedestrian refuge
• Crossings giving equal priority to pedestrian and vehicular traffic
• Buildout, pedestrian refuge, and raised entry treatment

In late 2021, Oxfordshire County Council decided the traffic restriction on Witney High Street and Market Square should remain. Less through traffic in the busiest part of the town centre encourages more people to feel safe walking around the area, and spending more time visiting the shops, market, and cafes, and enjoying the town's heritage. 

Read Centre for Cities piece on pedestrian footfall and the high street.

The project will finish with automatic number plate recognition, or ANPR, cameras installed at either end of the High Street and Market Square where there is a restriction on motor vehicle access. This makes it easier and safer for people to enjoy their time in the High Street and Market Square.

Signs will be added ahead of and just before entering the motor vehicle restriction area to make sure people know where the restriction is, and direct them to alternative parking and routes.

Shoppers can continue to park in the Woolgate car park near the Market Square and walk through the Woolgate Centre to the Market Square and High Street.

Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras are used to enforce motor vehicle restrictions using an ANPR camera positioned at access points to the restricted area. They do not record continuously and only record a vehicle's registration ('number') plate. Fixed-penalty notices are automatically issued for vehicles passing through the cameras that are not exempt. 

ANPR cameras are used under a legal permission that is granted by the Department for Transport. The permission is called a 'prohibition of motor vehicles' restriction. It allows the council to close the roads described in the order, and details any conditions and exemptions.

There are no changes to the existing motor vehicle restrictions on Witney High Street. Specific service vehicles such as utilities maintenance, standard emergency service vehicles, deliveries, public buses, taxis and blue badge holders remain exempt within the restrictions. Other motor vehicles are not permitted to pass through and are likely to receive a penalty charge notice, or PCN, if they do and are not exempt.

If you feel you have been issued a PCN in error, please contact us as is described on the ticket. You will need to explain why you think you have received the PCN in error. The parking team will review your case.