A REDUCTION in the number of London buses travelling on the High Street, Oxford, should be central to improvements to the historic road, transport planners will be told.

Traders say the 2,500 buses a day thundering up the High could be significantly cut if up to a third of London buses could be kept away from the city centre.

And they will call on county council planners to investigate the idea of some London buses starting and terminating their journeys at park-and-rides on the edge of the city.

Traders and colleges are to meet council officers following claims that one of Europe's most beautiful streets is being ruined by clutter and pollution.

Colleges in High Street added to the pressure on the council warning that the street was being turned into "a giant bus station", with their students having to endure "24-hour-a-day noise and air pollution".

County Hall says it is anxious to hear the views of landowners and business in the High, after the outcry caused by proposals to site more bus stops outside college frontages.

Graham Jones, of the Oxford High Street Business Association, said any improvements' package should address the issue of 250 round trips a day to the capital.

He said: "We recognise the value of buses bringing large numbers of people into the city centre. But these are large buses taking their toll on the High Street.

"We believe there is now an opportunity to see whether the huge volume of buses could be slowed down, with some bus journeys to London starting at the park-and-rides.

"There is absolutely no need for all the London buses to come into the city centre. They could start off from Redbridge, for example, and then pick up passengers at the Thornhill park-and-ride. People from Witney could get a London bus from Pear Tree or Water Eaton. This would also have the additional benefit of saving many people from having to travel into the city centre to catch a bus. The bus companies should see it as an opportunity."

Mr Jones said that some buses needed to travel to London from the city centre, but he believed they could easily be reduced by a third.

He said the association would also be raising the issue of bus gate signs disfiguring the street. With the High Street having been entered for The Great Street of the Year Award, he said it was essential that the council looked at what could be done in the short term. Martin Sutton, managing director of Stagecoach, owners of the Oxford Tube, said: "We will be happy to engage with and look at any proposal coming out of the discussions.

"If there was an alternative to the High Street in terms of access to the city centre we would be happy to consider it.

"But the number of passengers using the service is continuing to grow. And you have to bear in mind that they are stakeholders in the High as well." He said the Oxford Tube ran about 72 round trips to London a day, with many passengers picked up in Headington. The number of journeys had been cut with the arrival of bigger buses, carrying up to 80 passengers, he said.

Oxfordshire County Council says cuts in Government funding mean it is having to re-assess improvements to the road and paving on the High between Turl Street and Longwall.

Ian Hudspeth, the council's cabinet member for transport, said: "There is no doubt that there was some confusion during our consultation. Some parties believed we were presenting them with a fait accompli. That was never the case. No decisions have been taken on exactly what will happen."