A CAMPAIGN to counter the "systematic vandalism" of Oxford High Street has been launched.

Colleges and traders say life is being made intolerable by the noise and pollution from 2,500 buses thundering down the High every day.

The campaign will call for a big reduction in buses, and the removal of London and airport-bound buses. And it will challenge local councils to accept full responsibility for the sorry state of Oxford's "architectural jewel".

The campaign, called High Priority, will be headed by Jeremy Mogford, owner of the Old Bank Hotel, who is the new chairman of the High Street Business Association.

And colleges with historic frontages on the High have agreed to throw their weight behind an alliance that will press for a fundamental change in planning and transport policy and also seek to make the "desecration of the High" a national issue.

College bursars have accused the county council of neglecting its environmental responsibilities to the thousands of people who live and work on the High.

There are plans to commission a study of pollution and noise levels to support their case.

The campaign will also push for repaving work on the High to be resumed, after an improvement scheme was abandoned because of lack of funding.

With repaving at the Cornmarket and Magdalen Bridge ends complete, it is claimed that leaving the middle section unfinished has resulted in an "ugly mish-mash".

The decision to come out fighting was taken at a meeting of the alliance on Tuesday night, when it was claimed that warnings about the decline of the world famous street were being ignored.

There was anger that improvement work is being limited to a £3m resurfacing of the road, said to be close to collapse because of the volume of heavy buses.

The lack of investment in one of the city's greatest assets was compared with the millions being spent on London Road to speed up bus journeys and the scheme to regenerate the city's West End.

"The High is an iconic streetscape but one where the resident and visitor experience has been devalued," said Alliance spokesman Graham Jones, pictured left.

University, All Souls and Oriel are among the colleges who have helped to form High Priority.

University College domestic bursar Elizabeth Crawford said: "The High Street has been systematically vandalised over years by poor maintenance, appalling signage and the insistence on allowing any bus to go up and down the High Street, whether it is local or not. The council regard it as simply a traffic management problem. The issue of noise and atmospheric pollution seem to have dropped off the scale."

Colleges have also expressed fears about pollution and vibrations damaging the fabric of buildings.

Mr Mogford added: "In the first instance we would like to see London buses taken out of the equation."

Campaigners want planners to investigate the idea of London buses starting their journeys at park-and-rides on the edge of the city.

Ian Hudspeth, the county council cabinet member for transport, said the planned improvements programme for the High had been hit by a reduction in government funding.