Oxfordshire Local Transport Plan 2011-2030 Revised April 2012 ______26. Rural Areas

26.1 is a relatively rural county – the least densely populated in south east . Rural Oxfordshire encompasses a wide variety of different settings from the high Cotswolds to the Vale of White Horse, from isolated hamlets to small towns. Around 80% of the county is managed for agriculture and there are three extensive Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs), four national nature reserves and 109 sites of special scientific interest.

26.2 There are a large number of small communities in rural Oxfordshire. Of the 308 parishes with a population below 10,000 people, three quarters have fewer than 1,000 residents. Rural Oxfordshire also covers a number of large villages and smaller towns (including settlements such as Bampton, , Burford, Charlbury, , Eynsham, Goring, Common, Watlington, Wheatley and Woodstock).

Problems and challenges

26.3 There has been a decline of retail and other services in villages and small towns in recent years. This is likely to worsen access to services in rural areas by the growing number of older people, and worsen the isolation of vulnerable groups. Increased centralisation of services particularly affects rural areas because it disproportionately increases distances to the remaining service locations for people in rural areas compared to those in larger settlements. In rural areas it is young people and older people who are most affected by reduced access and face social exclusion, especially in areas where public transport provision is limited.

26.4 Rural communities are disproportionately affected by increases in fuel and transport costs. Rural businesses and services benefit from low congestion but face increasing access problems and increasing running costs as the relative price of fuel rises. At the same time, the ‘sustainability’ agenda favours locating business and housing closest to existing larger settlements, in locations better served by public transport, and more accessible by walking and cycling.

26.5 The following paragraphs set out the individual transport problems in the larger rural settlements in Oxfordshire. Many of these - ______Page 1 of 8 Chapter 26 Rural Areas

Oxfordshire Local Transport Plan 2011-2030 Revised April 2012 ______excess traffic on inappropriate roads (particularly lorries) and lack of support for pedestrians and cyclists - also apply to many of the county’s smaller villages.

26.6 Bampton lies at the junction of the A4095 and B4449 and has considerable through-traffic on narrow village roads. The A4095 also serves as an access route into RAF Brize Norton. The Transport Network Review recommended that the A4095 be downgraded to a B-road to discourage its use as a strategic route.

26.7 Burford lies at the junction of the A40, A361 and A424. It is an important tourist destination as well as a local service centre. The narrow bridge over the River Windrush at the north of the town can cause considerable congestion, and the relatively high level of lorry traffic has a negative impact on the environment of the town. A bypass has been considered in the past, but the high financial and environmental cost means this is no longer being pursued. The Transport Network Review recommended the downgrading of the A424 to B-road status and that consideration be given to an environmental weight limit, although the latter would need to be in the context of maintaining important access routes to Gloucestershire.

26.8 Charlbury is located at the junction of the B4022 and B4437; it also has a station on the Cotswold Lineao access is generally good. There are ongoing issues of limited parking within the village and access to the rail station, although these have improved in recent years.

26.9 Chinnor lies at the junction of the B4009 and B4445 and on a well used route to the M40 from , Princes Risborough and Aylesbury Vale. Improved signing has been proposed as a way to reduce through-traffic. Significant housing growth is planned for the village and consideration needs to be given to pedestrian and cyclist amenities in the village.

26.10 Eynsham is an important local service centre in West Oxfordshire. It suffers from severe congestion in peak hours, due to the capacity of the nearby Swinford Toll Bridge as well as its narrow village streets. Measures to reduce congestion on the A40 may reduce the attractiveness of the B4044 as a route into , and the provision of bus priority on the approaches to the toll bridge might cause some local journeys currently made by car to switch to bus. ______Page 2 of 8 Chapter 26 Rural Areas

Oxfordshire Local Transport Plan 2011-2030 Revised April 2012 ______

26.11 Goring-on-Thames is situated at a strategically important crossing of the river Thames and lies on the Great Western mainline. Traffic problems include impaired access to the railway station and inappropriate parking, particularly during the summer when it is a popular riverside destination.

26.12 Sonning Common lies on one of the main routes into Reading from . It has seen considerable growth in recent years. Inappropriate parking is a problem, particularly around the village centre and the older parts of the village, but the main concerns are regarding increased use of the B481 by drivers avoiding congestion on other routes into Reading. Oxfordshire County Council has been working with Reading Council to ensure that their transport proposals avoid exacerbating these problems. There is, however, a regular bus service into Reading.

26.13 Watlington is situated at the junction of the B480 and B4009 and has seen increased traffic in recent years due to the nearby M40 junction (Junction 6). The narrow streets in the village combined with the volume of traffic has resulted in air quality problems and an Air Quality Management Area was declared in the centre of Watlington in March 2009. Oxfordshire County Council will work with South Oxfordshire District Council to develop an Air Quality Action Plan to tackle these problems. A bypass or relief road has been suggested in the past, and this was also put forward in the Transport Networks Review, but this is unlikely to be progressed during the life of this Plan.

26.14 Wheatley is located to the east of Oxford near Junction 8 of the M40. Wheatley has some traffic management problems and is used by some drivers as a ‘rat run’ into Oxford to avoid congestion on the main routes into Oxford. Provision for pedestrians and access to the local countryside could be improved. Noise from the nearby A40 has also been highlighted in recent years.

26.15 Woodstock lies on the A44 and high through traffic levels (particularly lorries) have long been an issue for the town. An advisory route to divert freight traffic away from the A44 has been introduced in recent years and this has reduced some of the heavy goods traffic but not eliminated them. The Transport Networks Review recommended the removal of Primary Route

______Page 3 of 8 Chapter 26 Rural Areas

Oxfordshire Local Transport Plan 2011-2030 Revised April 2012 ______status from the A44 and this is being pursued with Gloucestershire and Warwickshire County Councils.

Strategy

26.16 Particular transport objectives for rural Oxfordshire are:  supporting access to work, education and services for the residents of rural Oxfordshire;  supporting the rural economy through access to rural Oxfordshire for all (local residents and non-residents); and  maintaining and improving the condition of local roads, bridleways, footpaths and cycleways, supporting access by all modes.

26.17 To act as a focus for local views on transport, Oxfordshire County Council has recently appointed an Area Steward for each District. Area Stewards will become a point of contact between Oxfordshire County Council and local communities. They will develop detailed knowledge of transport issues in rural communities, and liaise with local partners and interest groups regarding transport improvements.

26.18 Where rural communities develop community-based proposals for improving access to services (for example, community-run transport services), we will consider and support viable plans that are consistent with wider transport policy. Community-led and supported approaches may also provide a way to tackle other common rural travel issues, such as congestion and inappropriate parking near schools.

Strategy – Buses

26.19 Bus services provide a vital means of access to services for those living in rural Oxfordshire who lack access to a car. As outlined in previous chapters, we intend to increase the use of public transport and ensure that it is welcoming and of high quality. Our aspiration for rural buses is for improved services on key routes between towns and to retain a basic county bus network in other areas.

26.20 Oxfordshire has a very good rural bus network at the moment; currently over 75% of rural households in the county can access their nearest town centre by bus in less than 30 minutes.

______Page 4 of 8 Chapter 26 Rural Areas

Oxfordshire Local Transport Plan 2011-2030 Revised April 2012 ______26.21 New remote Park and Ride sites may provide a model for commercially viable rural bus services that improve access to town centres from rural areas, as well as reducing congestion in the towns themselves. Large Park and Ride sites have been potentially identified on the A34 and A40 and A34/A41 corridors. Further investigation will be needed to assess their viability. Smaller remote park and ride sites may be pursued on other routes (A420, A44, A4074) during the course of the Plan if appropriate.

26.22 Most of the bus services in rural areas, excluding those on the main inter-town routes, require public subsidy. We need to see if the access to services that traditional subsidised buses provide can be delivered in more financially viable ways. Many other organisations also run transport services in rural areas and Oxfordshire County Council will be looking to see if there are ways to integrate these to produce a service which meets local needs through satisfying individual choice rather than necessarily providing universal services.

26.23 Community-led approaches may also have an increasing role to play in delivering access to/from rural communities. We would welcome working with local communities to provide better rural transport options.

26.24 Promotional activity to attract users will be part of any significant improvement in public transport service provision, so that potential users are made aware of the improvements.

26.25 Updated infrastructure to improve bus stops will help ensure that the experience is high-quality and welcoming. A simplified form of the standard bus stop pole developed for the Premium Routes will be rolled-out across the county as resources allow.

Strategy – Rail

26.26 Access to passenger rail services is uneven across the county but in those areas where rail stations do exist they offer the chance to access services without adding to problems on rural roads. Provision of services is primarily the responsibility of the rail industry. During the period covered by this Plan we would wish to see improved rail services as a result of the Evergreen 3 and East West Rail proposals and also improved services on the Cotswold Line. Electrification may improve train services between Oxford and London, both fast and stopping. ______Page 5 of 8 Chapter 26 Rural Areas

Oxfordshire Local Transport Plan 2011-2030 Revised April 2012 ______

26.27 Our role will mainly be to improve access to rail stations. Exact schemes appropriate for each station will depend on the station’s location and locality, in particular the condition and standard of local roads. Where appropriate, we will consider:  better parking to increase the attractiveness of stations and reduce parking problems in surrounding areas;  better walking and cycling links to stations from nearby villages, particularly where there are no safe routes at present; and  improvements to connections for interchange with bus services – including better waiting facilities and working with the operators to develop combined ticketing and better integration of timetables.

26.28 The aim of all these measures would be to extend the area over which rail services can improve rural access. We will also work with rail companies to improve publicity and marketing of these services.

Strategy – Roads

26.29 Oxfordshire County Council has no plans for major highway improvements in the rural parts of the county over the life of this Plan. We do currently "protect" the lines of two rural bypasses, Marcham Bypass and Sutton Bypass, but only on the basis that these may be necessary to allow development in adjacent areas and we would expect them to be funded largely by those developments.

26.30 Proposals for the change in the status of roads, either in terms of its place in the road hierarchy (A-, B-, C-class roads etc) or through restrictions on their use by different types of vehicle would need to be justified in terms of their contribution to meeting the overall objectives of the Plan in a cost-effective way and not causing problems on other routes.

26.31 Where roads used for local access in rural areas are also key inter-urban corridors, conflicts can occur between rural communities and through traffic. Whilst use of minor roads by lorries is generally undesirable, imposing environmental weight limits on such routes is not considered a general, permanent solution to these conflicts; this can lead to lorries diverting on to even less suitable roads. Environmental weight limits also have to allow for local access. Structural weight limits do not allow ______Page 6 of 8 Chapter 26 Rural Areas

Oxfordshire Local Transport Plan 2011-2030 Revised April 2012 ______such exceptions but they can only be imposed only where surveys show that structures are too weak for heavy loads.

26.32 Freight advisory routes can sometimes provide a more appropriate, pro-active solution to problems caused by freight on rural roads and these will be implemented where appropriate (e.g. the existing advisory route avoiding the A44).

26.33 Locally led and funded solutions for mitigating problems caused by high levels of through traffic may be appropriate in some cases.

26.34 Rural road design needs to accommodate the needs of local users, local residents and the local economy, as well as through traffic. Where resources for road or junction improvements are available, the design will reflect the potential for walking, cycling, horse riding and bus use in that location, and not just consider the needs of motorised traffic.

26.35 Reduced speed limits can improve road safety and help facilitate walking, cycling and horse riding, as well as benefiting rural communities. We will continue to support reductions in the speed limit on single carriageway rural roads from 60 to 50mph, and the introduction of 20mph zones in settlements, Should the experience of the 20mph speed limits in limits in Oxford indicate that this would be worthwhile.

Strategy – Walking and Cycling

26.36 Walking, cycling and horse riding are popular pursuits in rural areas. They enable people to enjoy the countryside in a healthy and non-polluting way. They also bring significant custom to rural businesses and support the rural tourist economy.

26.37 Over 2,600 miles of paths, bridleways and byways are open to the public providing extensive access to the countryside. However these routes do not always provide a connected, safe or enjoyable network for walkers, cyclists and horse riders.

26.38 We will look to improve walking and cycling connections from villages to the rights of way network and to nearby towns, where this is justified by actual or potential use.

______Page 7 of 8 Chapter 26 Rural Areas

Oxfordshire Local Transport Plan 2011-2030 Revised April 2012 ______26.39 If resources allow we will develop rural cycle routes: these would take the form of signed routes on less busy roads, usually connected to the National Cycle Network or other existing cycle routes. In appropriate cases we will consider converting rights of way to cycle use, particularly where this will provide access to basic services or transport opportunities.

26.40 Measures to support walking may also be relevant to increasing access via public transport in some rural areas, since public transport journeys generally begin and end with a walk to a bus stop, and in some areas there is potential for cycling to bus stops or stations. Adequate infrastructure supporting walking and cycling to rural public transport hubs supports rural access to public transport.

______Page 8 of 8 Chapter 26 Rural Areas