Two footpaths to close for river bridge works

Two footpaths are due to be closed for preparations of the construction of a controversial £14m river bridge.

The Oxpens River Bridge will provide a new crossing between Oxpens Meadow to Grandpont Nature Park, linking southern and western areas with Oxford city centre.

The city council said the path through Oxpens Meadow would be closed from 29 July and the one through Grandpont on or soon after 3 August, with both expected to reopen in the spring when the bridge is due to be completed.

This follows the further delay in the Botley Road reopening for traffic and there are different councillors' views on the decision.

The closures will include the footpath between the Gasworks Rail Bridge and the end of Whitehouse Road.

The council said an alternative route for pedestrians and cyclists, which will be monitored and maintained during the closures, would remain available through the nature park.

It called the bridge "a central element of the wider Oxford West End regeneration programme" and said it would "help reduce car dependency, cut carbon emissions, and provide more options for residents to travel sustainably".

There have been a number of delays to building the bridge, including a judicial review brought by campaigners, which was dismissed in March 2025.

The local authority said that waiting to close the paths until after the full reopening of the Botley Road would delay the delivery of the bridge, prolong the closure of the Oxpens Meadow, and "add risk by requiring more of the bridge construction work to be undertaken in the flooding season".

It added that the recently opened southern walkway under the Botley Road rail bridge would also provide "an improved route for pedestrians into and out of the city centre".

The council's deputy leader, Anna Railton, said the local authority appreciated that, as the paths were currently used as an alternative during the closure of Botley Road, the closures would "cause some further inconvenience to users".

"However, it is important that we stick to the timetable of this vital project for Oxford," she said.

Railton, who is also cabinet member for planning and zero carbon, added she encouraged residents to use the two alternative routes.

Green councillor Lois Muddiman said it was "not acceptable for residents to have both routes into Oxford closed at the same time".

"I urge the city council to insist that their new contractor keep either the lower or upper path open, for most of the construction period," she said.