Cherwell Street (Banbury) bus improvement project

Work happening now at the George Street junction

Construction of these improvements began in January 2026, and we expect it to finish this summer.

Along George Street, we will begin phase 2G on 28 April. During this phase, we will be working at the George Street Junction. The bus lane and left-hand turning lane on George Street towards Cherwell Street will be closed. The left-hand lane on Windsor Street will also be closed. 

Figure 1. Map showing road and lane closures for phase 2G on George Street. The work area is marked in pink and shows that the work will be carried out at the George Street junction. The bus lane and the left-hand turning lane on George Street will be closed. The left-hand lane on Windsor Street will also be closed. A green box says that a pedestrian diversion will be clearly signed and marked on site.

Work happening now at the Bridge Street junction

From 5 May, we will be working on phase 1E during the day. We are excavating to install ducting, drainage construction, kerbing, and footway construction works along the southbound footway on Concord Avenue and the westbound footway on Bridge Street east. At the Bridge Street junction, the southbound left turn lane on Concord Avenue will be closed. On Cherwell Street, the left-turn lane for northbound traffic will be closed. Lane narrowing along Bridge Street east will be implemented.

Figure 2. Map showing traffic management for phase 1E at the junction of Concord Avenue, Bridge Street, and Cherwell Street. The work areas along the footways of Concord Avenue and Bridge Street East are marked in pink. The southbound left-turning lane on Concord Avenue will be closed, with lane narrowing on the westbound lane of Bridge Street east. On Cherwell Street (northbound), a lane is closed. 4 way temporary traffic signals will be in place. A green box says that a pedestrian diversion will be clearly signed and marked on site.

From week beginning 18 May, we will be working on Phase 1H during the day. We are excavating to install ducting at the junction of Lower Cherwell Street and Cherwell Street. The junction of Lower Cherwell Street and Cherwell Street will be closed. Vehicle and pedestrian diversions will be clearly marked and signed on-site. 

Figure 3. Map showing traffic management for phase 1H at the junction of Cherwell Street and Lower Cherwell Street. The work area along the crossing of Lower Cherwell Street is marked in blue. Access to Lower Cherwell Street will be via Canal Street. The vehicle and pedestrian diversion are marked in green.

Night work

From week beginning 27 April, we will be working on Phase 1G during the night. We will be working at the junction of Bridge Street east and Station Approach Road for seven nights to install traffic signals ducting. Temporary traffic signals will be in place with footway and lane closures being clearly marked. Pedestrian diversions will be signed. 

From week beginning 4 May, we will be working on Phase 1J during the night. We will be working to construct the traffic island on Concord Avenue and the traffic signals ducting on the island for 3 weeks. The northbound and southbound lanes on Concord Avenue and Cherwell Street at the Bridge Street junction will be closed. Temporary traffic signals will be in place with footway and lane closures being clearly marked. Pedestrian diversions will be signed.

Figure 4. Map showing traffic management for phase 1G (nighttime work) at the junction of Bridge Street and Station Approach Road. The work area is marked in pink. The westbound lane on Bridge Street east will be closed. The left-hand lane on Cherwell Street and the southbound right-hand lane on Concord Avenue will be closed. 4 way temporary traffic signals will be in place. A green box says that a pedestrian diversion will be clearly signed and marked on site.

From 7 May, we will be working on Phase 1J overnight. We will be working to construct the traffic island on Concord Avenue and the traffic signals ducting on the island for seven nights. The northbound and southbound lanes on Concord Avenue and Cherwell Street at the Bridge Street junction will be closed. Temporary traffic signals will be in place with footway and lane closures being clearly marked. Pedestrian diversions will be signed.

Figure 5. Map showing traffic management for phase 1J (nighttime work) at the junction of Bridge Street and Concord Avenue. The work area is marked in pink. North and southbound lanes on Concord Avenue and northbound lanes on Cherwell Street will be closed. 4 way temporary traffic signals will be in place. A green box says that a pedestrian diversion will be clearly signed and marked on site.

Ongoing traffic and pedestrian management

Temporary traffic lights with controlled pedestrian crossings will be in place throughout the works. Pedestrian diversions and changes will clearly mark the safest way to travel.

Access to businesses and for emergency services will always be maintained and coordinated with the contractor.

Advance signage has been installed in the wider area to notify road users that works are taking place at these junctions.

Please be careful when passing through the roadworks, plan your travel accordingly, and expect delays, especially at peak times. The temporary traffic signals are being monitored in real time using CCTV cameras at the junctions.

About the project

We have been awarded government funding to improve bus journey times and reliability into and out of Banbury town centre. We are also taking this opportunity to improve pedestrian facilities and signalling at two key junctions in the centre of town.

We are focusing on Cherwell Street, between the George Street and Bridge Street junctions, and the Bridge Street and George Street junctions themselves. This area is congested during peak times, which worsens bus journey times and reliability.

The proposed improvements include:

• implementing a longer running lane along Cherwell Street for left-turning vehicles, including buses, travelling north-bound into Bridge Street (west)
• improving pedestrian facilities with new, safer, and more direct crossings
• optimising traffic signals to reduce delay for buses and cars
• and lining and signing work to improve traffic flow, safety, and overall road user experience.

What to expect from the upcoming construction phases

Here is what we will be doing from June 2026 onwards. 

June 2026 

• The northbound left turn lane on Cherwell Street and the southbound left turn lane/ right turn lane on Concord Avenue will be closed.
• The bus lane on George Street will be closed with temporary traffic lights in place. 

July 2026 

• Drainage cleaning and covers installation.
• Final resurfacing works will be carried out at night with road closures and diversion in place. 

Stay up to date on the work

Email cherwellstbus@oxfordshire.gov.uk to ask the team a question or call our customer services team on 01865 792 422, who will arrange for someone to get in touch with you.

We also recommend signing up to:

• our resident email update by visiting our county council Mailchimp web page: https://mailchi.mp/af95d495cc23/n5f1w9uea0
• and our county travel and transport bulletin: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/contact-council/sign-hear-us

For information about other planned roadworks or incidents, visit https://one.network

Funding

The project is largely funded by the Department for Transport's Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) programme and improvements to bus service reliability and journey times are core requirements.

Additional money from local developers (known as Section 106 contributions) will fund crossing facility and signal improvements at the Bridge Street junction. This will make it safer for people walking, cycling, and wheeling to bus stops, the town centre, and Banbury Rail Station.

More information

How did you decide how to improve the junction?

In 2024 we shortlisted five options that could improve bus journey times and reliability:

1. Improving pedestrian crossing facilities at the George Street and Bridge Street junctions with Cherwell Street plus widened footways on the Concorde Avenue arm.
2. Option one plus a signalised crossing of the George Street bus lane and widened footways on Cherwell Street and at the Bridge Street junction.
3. Bus priority lane northbound on Cherwell Street.
4. Bus lane with no right turn into Bridge Street (east).
5. Adjusting the timing and co-ordination of traffic lights to improve the flow of vehicles, reduce congestion and enhance safety on the roads.

We used concept design work, data modelling of traffic movements and feedback from county, district and town councillors and Stagecoach Bus to develop the preferred option. This option combined option five with pedestrian improvements and an extended bus lane on Cherwell Street and amended the proposed layout for Bridge Street (east).

Did you hold any consultations?

We ran a public consultation from 4 March to 1 April 2024 to collect feedback to help us to develop the preliminary design. More information can be found on our Let's Talk Oxfordshire website, including the full consultation report.

Elements of the design we consulted on required the removal of highway lanes and/or reduced highway capacity to improve pedestrian crossing facilities. In response to feedback, we investigated this further using updated traffic modelling data and detailed design work.

We held a second consultation, from 24 February to 23 March 2025, during which we shared data showing the impact of the scheme on journey times for buses and other vehicles. More information about the consultation, including information materials, can be found on our Let’s Talk Oxfordshire website. You can also read the full consultation report.

What happened after the consultations?

We made six changes to the design in response to the consultation results, safety and technical work, and stakeholder feedback. All changes retain the pedestrian and bus journey time benefits.

We spent summer 2025 talking to local active travel organisations, business and transport groups, and councillors about these changes. A full description of the changes and stakeholder meeting notes are available in Annex 4 of the cabinet member decision meeting paper.

We then made our final recommendations based on their feedback and technical and safety assessments. A decision to accept the amended design and begin construction was made at the 4 September 2025 Cabinet Member Decision meeting.

What about cycling infrastructure?

Improvements for cyclists cannot be included in this scheme due to a lack of available space. Consultation feedback and conversations with local groups highlighted that this was a concern.

However, route 10 of the Banbury Local Cycling & Walking Plan schemes is currently being designed using active travel funding and will include a modal filter between Lower Cherwell Street and Bridge Street east. 

The final design of the Cherwell Street bus improvements will include features to allow the Bridge Street and George Street junctions to be upgraded to toucan crossings, when the cycle link is delivered.

What are the full range of improvements you are going to build?

Along the Cherwell Street corridor between George Street and Bridge Street this would include:

• Refreshing existing line markings (including 'keep clear' markings at petrol station access/egress).
• Creating an extended left-turn northbound on Cherwell Street into the town centre.

At the George Street/Cherwell Street junction, this would include:

• Widening the existing bus lane at the junction where the buses turn left, which has a sub-standard lane width.
• Introducing a pedestrian crossing on George Street and on the northern arm and improving existing crossings
• Improving the traffic lanes approaching the junction from the south and removing the islands in Cherwell Street.

At the Bridge Street/Cherwell Street junction, this would include:

• Optimising traffic signals.
• Improving the junction for pedestrians on Bridge Street (west).
• Reconstructing the pedestrian islands along Concord Avenue (north).
• Removing the pedestrian island along Bridge Street (east and west).
• Reconstructing the pedestrian islands along Cherwell Street (south).
• Altering the highway lane allocations on Bridge Street (east) to address left-turning vehicles mounting the footway due to sub-standard lane widths. This may lead to reduced highway capacity on Bridge Street (east).
• Update line markings in the junction.

We are no longer adjusting to traffic lane allocation at the Cherwell Street/Concorde Avenue/Bridge Street junction and the Cherwell Street/George Street junction.

How does this project relate to wider Banbury improvements?

The Cherwell Street improvements complement work being done to improve access to Banbury Rail Station.

Both projects focus on investing in public transport and pedestrian infrastructure, in line with our Local Transport Connectivity Plan.

The improvements are part of the Banbury Movement & Place Plan 2026, which contributes to regeneration proposals for Banbury and aims to make it easier for those using public transport or walking, wheeling, or cycling to move through the town.

The improvements also form part of the Banbury 2050 vision and support the objectives of the Oxfordshire County Council, Cherwell District Council and the government's public transport