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).
Have your say
We’d like to hear your thoughts on our scheme proposals. Our online community engagement runs from 12 noon on Tuesday 30 September until 11:59pm Tuesday 28 October 2025.
We are also holding two drop-in events where you can learn more and chat to our project team:
- Saturday 11 October, 10am-3pm in Old Magistrates' Court Room, Guildhall, Abbey Close, Abingdon OX14 3JD
- Tuesday 14 October, 4pm-7pm in Roysse Room, Guildhall, Abbey Close, Abingdon OX14 3JD
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 | Spring 2026 |
| Construction / delivery | Spring 2026 | Summer 2026 |
| Close out period (including 12 months defects liability period) | Summer 2026 | Summer 2027 |
Early local stakeholder engagement was conducted and the initial designs to secure the funding were drafted with 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 its 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 currently at the design and procurement stage and consultants have been appointed for the preliminary design. We will update this page further as the project progresses and options are identified.
Contact us
If you would like to know more about the project, you can contact us by email