THE PRICE of controversial plans to pedestrianise Oxford's Queen Street has been put at £2m, with council chiefs determined to press ahead.

Despite claims from bus companies the proposal could cause 'total gridlock', Oxford City Council leader Bob Price said the scheme was 'entirely appropriate'.

He insisted the firms were 'over-dramatising' traffic concerns and that banning buses from the street when the new £440m Westgate Shopping Centre opens would be 'transformative' for the city centre.

Mr Price said: "We do not yet know what the full traffic implications will be but the modelling that has been done – which has been done independently – is very robust and we strongly feel pedestrianisation should go ahead.

"It makes all kinds of sense in terms of movement around the city centre, creating more pedestrian spaces and increases the appeal of a part of the city that is becoming a new quarter.

"We have been talking with the county council in some detail about the traffic movements and do not share the concerns that have been expressed.

"The plans for Queen Street are entirely appropriate for the new retail opportunity that is going to open up with Westgate and are part of creating a civilised city centre.

"The bus companies are over-dramatising the situation."

The city council wants Queen Street to be traffic-free by October 2017 – in time for the reopening of Westgate – and is poised to plough £500,000 of funding into it.

Another £1.3m is due to be contributed by the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, with Oxfordshire County Council – the transport authority that will deliver the scheme – set to fund the final £170,000.

Mr Price's comments came as county council leader Ian Hudspeth said he was willing to hold fresh discussions with bus companies.

But he stopped short of saying he would consider delaying the scheme by six months to assess Westgate's 'full traffic impact', a key demand of Stagecoach Oxfordshire and Oxford Bus Company.

Mr Hudspeth said: "We are well aware that Westgate is set to open by autumn 2017 and that is clearly going to attract a lot of additional people.

"What we have to do is find a solution that is acceptable to everyone and we are working very hard to do that.

"I understand the concerns of the bus companies, but you have got to imagine what Queen Street is going to be like on a Saturday afternoon, when the Westgate has opened its doors again.

"It is going to be very busy – likely as busy as Cornmarket is – and it is difficult to envisage how buses will be able to get down there."

A county council spokeswoman said last week that officials were still considered the responses to a consultation on the Queen Street proposals.

One of the key concerns raised is that its closure will remove a route used by buses to turn around.

The county council has proposed creating a new bus turning circle – something regarded by bus companies as essential – outside Nuffield College, but a spanner was thrown in the works when the college objected.

Talks are underway to find a compromise but Oxford Bus Company managing director Phil Southall said bosses have been left uneasy by a lack of news on the subject recently.

Martin Sutton, managing director of Stagecoach Oxfordshire, said the companies had also written to the county council about their concerns but had 'yet to receive a response'.

He added "We would welcome the opportunity to resume discussions on how matters might be taken forward."

The proposals to pedestrianise Queen Street have also drawn heavy criticism from Oxford Preservation Trust and Oxford Civic Society.

Both groups say the plan will pile more buses into the historic High Street and St Aldates and make them 'dangerous and unpleasant'.

The £500,000 of city council funding for the scheme is due to be considered by senior councillors on the executive board this Thursday.

The Westgate Oxford Alliance was asked to comment by the Oxford Mail but a spokeswoman said no one was available.