Abingdon East St. Helen Street NCN5 Active Travel Scheme
A transport and connectivity scheme that will encourage walking, wheeling and cycling in Abingdon town centre, by providing improved cycleway facilities on East St Helen Street and new crossing facilities at the junction of High Street, Bridge Street and Stert Street providing an important link through the town on National Cycle Network Route 5 (NCN5).
Previous consultation
A public survey took place between 30 September and 28 October 2025. The results of this consultation can be found in the scheme consultation and engagement report (pdf format, 950KB).
About the improvements
The improvements will make walking, wheeling and cycling in and through the town safer and easier by connecting a missing section of National Cycle Network Route 5 (NCN5) and providing improved access between Market Place, Abbey Meadows and East St Helen Street.
The project will provide improved crossing facilities at the junction of High Street with Bridge Street and Stert Street providing access to the Market Place and Abbey Meadows. Continuous footways will be provided at side roads and the scheme will deliver a contraflow cycle facility allowing two-way cycling for the entire length of East St Helen Street. Continuous footways allow a footway to cross a junction without a visual or real physical change (e.g., so there is no height change for a kerb making it easier for mobility aids to cross) but with signage and appropriate surfacing to indicate that pedestrians have priority over vehicles when crossing the junction.
It will also provide the opportunity to deliver some minor enhancements to this part of the town that will benefit the feel of the space and complement the town’s medieval market heritage.
The project will provide a critical connection through the centre of Abingdon to provide a link to one of the county’s key cycling routes that joins Oxford and Didcot and connections to other rural communities.
What you can expect
The project route extends from the southern end of East St. Helen Street, up to and including the High Street/Stert Street/Bridge Street junction. At the moment, cyclists have to dismount and push their cycle for approximately 90 metres before rejoining the cycle route. This impacts cyclists, pedestrians and people with reduced mobility who may also be potentially using adapted cycles.
Why are we investing here?
Oxfordshire County Council has been allocated £1,473,679 from the government’s Active Travel Fund. This funding is allocated to support specific projects intended to improve walking and cycling infrastructure in the county. The Abingdon East St Helen Street Active Travel scheme is an infrastructure project that has received funding for full project delivery (from preliminary design, through public consultation, and proceeding to detailed design, and then construction).
The scheme is included in the Abingdon Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP), and ties in with the Oxford, Abingdon, and Didcot local cycling and walking infrastructure plans, to create a safer connection of routes for walking, wheeling and cycling across the county. The Abingdon LCWIP (February 2023) is a 10-year plan (2023 to 2033) to improve and increase cycling and walking in the town.
- Abingdon Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (pdf format, 4 MB)
- Abingdon LCWIP maps (pdf format, 2 MB)
What we are proposing the scheme will include
The proposals include pedestrian crossings and a section of cycle contraflow. Once completed, it is expected to contribute towards achieving a high-quality cycle network connecting Oxford, Abingdon, Didcot, and beyond.
Timescales
| Item(s) | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|
| Design and procurement | March 2025 | Summer 2026 |
| Construction / delivery | Autumn 2026 | Spring 2027 |
| Close out period (including 12 months defects liability period) | Spring 2027 | Spring 2028 |
Early local stakeholder engagement was conducted and the initial designs to secure the funding were drafted with the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust (Sustrans) as early stages towards this project.
The timing for delivery of the scheme will depend on what the preferred solution is, cost of delivery, and whether additional factors are needed such as planning permissions.
Minimising the impact
As the project is still in the design stage, the traffic management arrangements during construction are yet to be confirmed. Should the proposals be approved, we will coordinate the work to minimise the impact on the network as far as possible. Further details of this will be available when the project is at construction stage.
How it is being funded
The project is being funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) through the Active Travel Fund Tranche 4 Extension (ATT4e) funding round.
Next steps
The project is now in the design and procurement stage. Feedback from the October 2025 consultation has been reviewed. This feedback is helping to identify where changes may be needed in the draft proposals. This page will be updated as the project progresses and new options are developed.
Contact us
If you would like to know more about the project, you can contact us by email